Power, Class and Crime Flashcards
How do Marxists agree with labelling theory?
Both think that the law is biased against the working class and is selectively enforced
How do Marxists critisize labelling theory?
It doesn’t examine the wider structure of enforcement and offending
How is capitalism criminogenic?
Exploitation of the working class creates inequality so they need crime to survive or get frustrated and violence Capitalism encourages greed so white collar crime
What does Gordon say about crime and capitalism?
Crime is a rational response to capitalism which is why it’s found in all social classes
What does Chambliss argue about the state and law-making?
Laws protecting personal property are the cornerstone of capitalist society
What did Snider argue about capitalism and law making?
The capitalist state is reluctant to pass laws that threaten their own profits or regulate business men
What is the ideological function of laws and crime?
Appear to benifit working class but are enforced less often so creates a false consciousness Workers encouraged to blame criminals rather than the unequal structure of society
What is a strength of marxism?
Puts a wider structural context in place
What are the weaknesses of marxism?
Deterministic Ignores non-class factors like gender Most crime is inter-class
What kind of sociologist is Taylor?
Neo-marxist
How do marxists and neo-marxists agree with each other?
Society is based on the exploitation of the working class with the interests of the ruling class Capitalism should be replased with a classless society
How do neo-marxists disagree with marxists?
They argue that marxism is deterministic
Neo-marxists see crime as a conscious choice where the criminal is deliberately trying to change society
What sources do neo-marxists take their theory of social deviance from?
Marxism - unequal distribuion of wealth
Labelling - deviance gains a negative label
What are the six aspects that must be considered when looking into the neo-marxist social theory of deviance?
Wider origins Immediate origins Act itself Immediate origins of the social reaction Wider origins of the social reaction Effect of labelling
How can the neo-marxist approach be critisized?
Feminists: Focuses on male criminality
Left realists: They romantisize working class crimes
Hopkins Burke: To general and idealistic to be useful
How do feminists critisize the neo-marxist approach?
They see it as too focused on male criminality and ignoring female crime
How do left realists critisize the neo-marxist approach?
They argue that it romanticises the working class and doesn’t take it seriously
How does Hopkins Burke critisize the neo-marxist approach?
The theory is too generak and idealistic to be useful
What is white collar crime?
Crime committed by a high status individual in the course of their job
What is occupational crime?
Committed by employees for personal gain against an organisation
What is corperate crime?
Committed by employees on behalf of their organisation
What did Tombs conclude about the scale of corperate crime?
It has enormous costs, is widespread, routine and pervasive
What are some types of corperate crime?
Financial crimes (tax evasion and illegal accounting)
Crimes against consumers (selling unfit goods)
Crimes against employees (discrimination)
Crimes against the environment (pollution)
How do high status professionals abuse our trust?
We trust them with our health and security which gives them the opportunity to misuse this such as fraud in the NHS
Sutherland: White collar crime promotes cynicism which undermines the fabric of society
How does white collar crime undermine the fabric of society according to Sutherland?
It promotes cynicism and mistrust of basic institutions
What are the reasons why white collar crime is invisable?
Lack of media attention Lack of will Complexity De-labelling Underreporting
How does the media contribute to the invisability of corperate crime?
They give it limited coverage and use language that makes it seem more like a technical issue than a crime
How does the lack of will to investigate corperate crime lead to it being seen as invisable?
More effort is focused on street crime
How does Merton use strain theory to explain crime?
When people can’t acheive socially approaved goals by legitimate means, they use illegal ones. (Working class)
How does Box expand on Merton’s strain theory to explain corperate crime?
When a company can’t expand profits by legitimate means, they employ illegal ones instead.
How does Sutherland use differential association to explain corperate crime?
Learned from others in a social context so if the culture of a company justifys it, employees will be socilised into criminality
What did Geis find about differential association and white collar crime?
When people entered companies with illegal price fixing, they became involed in it as part of their socilisation
What are techniques of neutralisation?
Sykes and Matza: Justifications to neutralise moral objections such as victim blaming
Who developed the idea of techniques of neutralisation?
Sykes and Matza
How can labelling theory be used to explain why white collar crime is so widespread?
They are less likely to be labelled as criminal so have the power to avoid prosecution, leading to it being more common
How do marxists explain corperate crime?
They see it as a part of the normal functioning of capitalism
Box: The ideology that white collar crime is not widespread or harmful is popular
What does Box argue about white collar crime? (Marxism)
The ideology that white collar crime is not widespread or harmful is popular
