Right Realism Flashcards
Charles Murray - underclass
Charles Murray suggests that both in the USA and UK, there exists a lower-class subculture or underclass below the ‘respectable’ working-class, which subscribes to deviant and criminal values rather than mainstream values. He claims that parents in this underclass transmit this deficient culture to their children via socialisation. He suggests that this criminal underclass is growing as a result of welfare dependency.
Bennett, Dilulio and Walters - early criminal socialisation
Bennett, Dilulio and Walters (1995) argue the young criminal underclass exists as a result of ‘growing up surrounded by deviant, delinquent, and criminal adults in a practically perfect criminogenic environment that is, one that seems almost consciously designed to produce vicious, predatory unrepentant street criminals’.
Clarke - rational choice theory
Clarke (1980) argues that an individual’s decision to commit crime is a choice based on a rational calculation of the likely consequences of their actions. If the perceived rewards of crime outweigh the perceived costs of crime, or if the rewards of crime appear to be greater than those of non-criminal action, then people are more likely to choose to offend.
Felson - community controls
In a similar analysis, Felson (1998) notes that if community controls (e.g. from family, neighbours, the community etc) are strong, this increases both the risk of being caught and punished, and deters crime.
However, all too often, especially in inner city areas, community controls are weak, and the risk of being caught and punished is low.
Wilson - zero-tolerance policing
Wilson stresses the certainty of capture which he believes will result in the risks of being caught outweighing the benefits of crime. He particularly recommends ‘zero tolerance’ policing, i.e. the police should keep the streets clear of all deviant elements especially those crimes which threaten to undermine or threaten the sense of community in neighbourhoods such as prostitution, begging, drug-dealing and drunkenness. He believes that the streets should be flooded with police in order to both deter crime and so that law-abiding citizens can feel safe. This policy proved to be very successful in New York in the 1990s.
Wilson - ‘broken windows theory’
Wilson’s ‘broken windows’ theory argues that if signs of disorder and lack of concern for others are allowed to develop then crime rates rapidly increase. He suggests it is essential to maintain the orderly character of neighbourhoods to prevent crime taking hold. Any sign of deterioration such as graffiti or broken windows must be dealt with immediately because failure to deal with these problems sends out a clear signal to criminals and deviants that no one cares which encourages the escalation of crime.
Rex and Tomlinson - poor people’s values
Rex and Tomlinson point out that survey evidence suggests that the poor subscribe to the same sorts of values as everybody else and that their poverty is often caused by factors beyond their control, e.g. economic recession, globalisation, government policies etc.
