Neomarxism And Crime

Question 1

overview

Answer 1

They agree with Marxists that capitalist society is based on exploitation and class conflict which leads to crime. However, Taylor, Walton, and Young criticize Marxists for being economically deterministic, they assume that the WC commits crime out of economic necessity, instead, they take a voluntaristic approach which is the idea that we have free will. They argue that the WC has agency and crime is a meaningful action and a conscious choice by the actor, they don’t commit crime due to economic inequality but as a political motive in order to change society. Criminals are not passive puppets whose behaviours are shaped by capitalism they commit crime to change society

Question 2

key sociologists

Answer 2

Taylor et al
Stuart Hall

Question 3

who do they come up with

Answer 3

The fully social theory of deviance

Question 4

fully social theory of deviance

Answer 4

Taylor et al offer a fully social theory of deviance, which they claim gives us a better understanding of crime and deviance. They combine interactionist and Marxist theory together to develop the concept. As a result, they see deviance as being influenced by both individual agency and structural forces such as the perception of the police, media, society at large and capitalism

Question 5

fully social theory of deviance terms

Answer 5

1. Wider Origins of Deviant Act
2. Immediate origins of the Deviant Act
3. The Actual Act of Deviance
4. Immediate societal response to the Act
5. Wider response to the act
6. Impact of social reaction on future behaviour - the effects of labelling

Question 6

wider origins of the deviant act

Answer 6

This serves to explain the deviant act in the context of capitalism and inequality. T W and L argue that C and D comes about because of the unequal distribution of wealth and power in capitalist society. The wider origins refer to the power structure in society, how unequal it is, and how inequality becomes a motive for deviant acts. For example, the current cost of living crisis and austerity cuts would mean that a working-class individual may be impacted by the inability to afford goods and this may influence their decision to deviate. Crime recorded in England and Wales as at September 2022 was 10% higher compared to 2020 (ONS)

Question 7

immediate origins of the Deviant Acts

Answer 7

The particular social or economic context that has caused an individual to deviate. HIgh unemployment = loss of job, a WC individual may lose their job and be motivated to deviate. They struggle with the immediate consequence of living in a capitalist society and so they turn to crime to survive. Crime according to T W Y occurs because of specific factors like unemployment which leads to deviance

Question 8

the actual act of deviance

Answer 8

The meaning the act holds for the actor. For T W Y, to understand the deviant act we must understand the meaning it holds for the actor. The meaning crime holds for the WC according to T W Y is that it is a form of rebellion against capitalism. Crime holds different meanings to the deviant. It could be a political act against the ruling class, a robin hood act on behalf of the poor. For example, sit-ins and riots committed by members of the CRM were seen as a crime but for them, it was a political act, a form of resistance against police racism. Similarly, the current climate change protests by Just Stop Oil were seen as a crime as they vandalized public property but for them, it was a political act against climate change - which is an effect of corporate crime. Vandalism is also seen as a symbolic attack on society’s obsession with property

Question 9

the immediate response to the act

Answer 9

Reactions and responses from those around deviant to discovering the deviance. Such as the police, family, and community were they ostracised?

Question 10

wider origins of social reaction

Answer 10

This refers to the responses from groups who have the power to define actions as deviant and to label others. The wider response explains why some acts are treated more harshly than others. It examines how wider social systems in a capitalist society react to the act. For example, the government has the power to label. For example in Stuart Hall’s study of policing, the Crisis and the Rise of muggings, he found that when the state portrayed mugging as a challenge it led to a law and order campaign against the so-called black mugger.

Question 11

effects of labelling

Answer 11

The impact of society’s reaction on the deviant’s future behavior. Why does labelling lead to deviance amplification in some and not others

Question 12

feminist eval

Answer 12

It is difficult to conceive how the vast majority of crimes would ever have any political motive or meaning as not all crimes are property crimes committed against the bourgeoisie. Violent crimes like rape, DV, and child abuse exist and they rarely have a political motive. Radical Feminists like brown miller would argue that rape and DV are crimes committed by WC men because society is patriarchal and men benefit from the oppression of women, it is not a crime with a political motive committed against the bourgeoise but a crime with a misogynistic and patriarchal motive. In essence, not every crime is committed or can be justified as being done for a political motive. It overemphasizes property crime

Question 13

realist eval

Answer 13

1. Right realists argue that Neo-marxism is too idealistic in its explanation. Rational choice based on the assessments of risks and benefits, not the meaning it holds causes crime. Radical criminology is too general in explaining crime and is not useful in tacking crime, it sees crime as an active revenge against inequalities in society it therefore offers no realistic answers to solving crime
2. Left Realists criticize neo-Marxists for over-romanticizing WC criminals as robin hoods rebelling against capitalists or in Stuart Halls’s study of the black mugger, actively resisting racism. This romanticized view forces them to pay little attention to the victims of WC and black crime who are also WC and black. LRs conclude that radical criminology pays little attention to real victims of crime as they do not take into account the effects of WC street crime on WC victims

Question 14

what does Stuart Hall apply

Answer 14

He applies Taylor et als fully social theory in his study - policing the crisis. The study is based on Black Criminality in regards to the rise of muggings in the 1970s

Question 15

wider origins - Muggings

Answer 15

Hall looks at the rise of muggings within the wider social context of the economic recession of the 1970s. British capitalism faced a crisis, they were experiencing a period of stagflation. At such times, he argues that opposition to the government and capitalism begins to grow. The elite was in trouble and they needed a scapegoat to divert attention away from them which led to the emergence of the black mugger

Question 16

immediate origins - muggings

Answer 16

Hall found that the particular social context in which black youth committed the crime was due to conflict between the first generation who accepted racism and their children who resisted it. This conflict resulted in people leaving home and taking to the streets, drifting into the petty crime of mugging as a survival strategy. Hall saw the social and economic marginalization of black youth as the immediate origin, they resisted the racism they faced through their action, making their criminality understandable and almost heroic.

Question 17

the actual act - muggings

Answer 17

Mugging is a term imported from the US, it had no meaning and didn’t exist as a crime in the UK before the 1970s. Hall argues that there was no real significant rise in the number of street robberies during this period but the few that occurred were associated with young black males

Question 18

immediate origins of societal reaction - muggings

Answer 18

Hall focuses on the central role played by the media in diverting public attention to mugging. The media were central in generating public opinion against the Black Mugger. Between August 1972-73, the press reported 60 incidents as muggings created a picture of black youths causing mayhem on the inner city streets and yet mugging was neither a new problem nor was it growing at an alarming rate, in fact, the rate of growth was less than the rate of the 196-s but the public focused so much attention on the black mugger because the media acting as an ISA created a moral panic by labeling mugging as a problem

Question 19

wider origins of societal reaction

Answer 19

The moral panic must be seen in the context of the problems faced by British capitalism in the early 1970s. The recession meant that the govt was extremely unpopular and looking to deflect attention from itself. Black youth provided the scapegoat and a moral panic was created by the media as a result the public demanded that something be done about the problem of mugging. The state responded by portraying mugging as a challenge to its authority, this allowed them to mount a law and order campaign. The solution was a divide-and-conquer approach along racial lines. Which resulted in the black mugger becoming the enemy of all and a weakened challenge to the state.

Question 20

outcome

Answer 20

Labeling of black youths led to an increase in arrests which in turn justified even stronger police measures against black muggers. Because the media made the crime of mugging appear to be increasing, This led to the public seeing the problems in their community as more of a problem than the state and the economic recession of the 1970s

Question 21

analysis of T W Y

Answer 21

1. Crime is a deliberate and conscious reaction to how the powerless interpret their position within the capitalist system
2. Crime is political, it is generally the reaction of the poor and powerless to injustice, exploitation, and alienation it serves a political motive
3. Criminals are not passive victims of capitalism but are actively struggling to alter capitalism and to change society for the better. It calls on Mertons behaviourial responses to strain, the working class lack the means of production and as a result cannot achieve societys shared goals so they become rebels turning to crime to make their own society

Question 22

eval of hall

Answer 22

Downs and Rock - there is no direct evidence to suggest that the capitalist crisis led to a moral panic or the targetting of one ethnicity
LR - media did not create a moral panic, the communities were worried about crime