sociological theories Flashcards
what do marxists want
society to be equal
what do the ruling class do
control police and CJS who target working class and explot for power
who many controls society (marxism)
small amount of people
2 strengths of marxism
1) identfies the inequalities in society
2) provides an explanation for all types of crime
2 limitations for marxism
1) overinstates the amount of working class crime
2) people have been prosecuted for white collar crime (Jordan belford)
what does functionalism focus on
focuses on holding society and how we are socialsied into having the same norms and values
what is the value consensus
the shared norms and values society has on what is right and wrong
social solidarity
the shared values bind people together making them feel like they belong
subcultural groups (functionalism)
those that deviate will have diffrent norms and values on right and wrong meaning the amount of shared values will decrease in society and can be a threat.
how can crime be good (functionalism)
allows deviatenst to test the boundary of right and wrong
functions of crime
1) boundary maintenance, can unite those with shared values
2) saftey values, stops worse crime
3) warning signs, shows society what needs to be fixed
strength of functionalism
first theory to say how crime is beneficial to society
2 limitations to functionalism
1) says crime is benefical but doent say how much
2) there are still victims
goals and means
goals: what we are socialised into believeing we need to achienve
means: the structures put in place to achieve
how is a strain created
not everyone has access to achienving the goals due to not having access to the means such as working class dont have access to good eductaion
5 types of people (strain theory)
1) conformists: accept goals and find legitement ways of achieveing
2) innovatives: accept goals but find illegitement ways of ahieving
3) rituralists: give up on goals
4) retreatests: give up on goals and means
5) rebels: replace goals and means with their own that benefit society
2 strengths of strain theory
1) explains crime rates in the official statistics
2) shows how crime and deviance can be from the same goal
2 limitations of strain theory
1) focuses on working class crime and ignores ruling class
2) ignores crime with no economic value (vandalism)
what does being called a criminal do
hold a lot of power and if you are treated as such you will act like one
how is crime and criminals created (linteractionalism, labelling theory )
social interactions
2 strengths of interactionalism, labeling theory
1) highlights weaknesses in the offical statistics
2) shows how the media creates crime and deviance and creates moral panic
2 limitations of interactionalism, labeling theory
1) ignores the victims of crime
2) doesn’t explain why crime and deviance happen in the first place
what is right realism
ideology that the poor are the problem, favours punishment and that poor education and parenting are to blame, conservative
what is inadequate socialisation
charles murray believes that parents arent socilaising their children right and that there is more chance for crime in young boys due to lack of male role model
