Sociological Theories Of Crime Flashcards
How do Marxists understand society?
By examining the process whereby the majority of the population are exploited by the owners and controllers of commerce and industr
What is Capitalism?
An economic and political system in which a country’s trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state
What did Marx see Capitalism as?
A system that allows the Bourgeoisie to exploit the Proletariat by forcing them to work, allowing for the rich owners of the factories of production to make more profit
Who are the Bourgeoisie?
The middle class
Who are the Proletariat?
The working class
Why is capitalism criminogenic?
Because it makes crime inevitable
According to Marxism what encourages class inequality?
Society commonly oppressing the Proletariat, often causing the poor to stay poor, but helping the rich get richer
Marxists believe crime is a logical response to what?
Class inequality and economic deprivation or poverty
What do Marxists argue about laws and the ruling class?
That laws are for the benefit of the ruling class and reflect their interests
What are the Marxist beliefs on conformity?
Marxists believe the bourgeoisie use crime as a means of social control. If someone does not conform then they will be punished. Institutions such as the police, the justice system, prisons and schools are there to encourage you to conform
Marxists also argue that law enforcement is selective. What do they say about white-collar crimes in relation to this?
They argue that white-collar crimes tend to be committed by the more powerful in society, and are widely ignored, while crimes committed by the less powerful in society are focused on more seriously, like burglary or street crime
Althusser said that the law is an Ideological State Apparatus. What does he mean?
The law makes sure it remains normal to have some people that are obscenely wealthy and others obscenely poor
What did Mannheim argue about the law protecting private property?
That the law protects private property, and therefore protects the wealth and profit of the bourgeoisie
Neo-Marxist Bonger argued crime was a perfectly normal outcome of what?
Of values which stressed looking after oneself at the expense of others
What did Neo-Marxist say about why poor people are driven to crime?
He said that poor people were driven to crime by their desperate conditions and frustration at the capitalist society
Neo-Marxist Bonger suggested that capitalism was based on what four things?
Competition, Consumerism, Narcissism and Greed
Why do Neo-Marxists like Bonger see crime as inevitable?
People are just looking after themselves
Marxists believe that the bourgeoisie in a capitalist society use crime to divert the attention of the population from the ‘real problem’. What is meant by this?
Crime helps to divert attention away from the exploitative nature of capitalism and focuses attention instead on the frightening nature of certain criminal groups in society (by creating moral panics)
What did Neo-Marxist Box say caused people to commit crime?
The release from social control
What do traditional Marxists believe causes criminality
Traditional Marxists say capitalism forces people to be criminal
What do Neo-Marxists say causes crime and what criminals are doing?
Capitalism makes people choose to be criminal. Criminals are therefore simply expressing their frustration at capitalist society by breaking the law
What What does Becker use to explain criminality
The labeling theory
What do Interactionists argue?
They argue that official statistics on crime are socially constructed and they believe that crime is also a social construction
What idea does Becker supply about deviance?
Becker gives us the idea that deviance is not a quality of a bad person, but the result of someone defining (labelling) someone’s activity as bad
Who did Becker believe a deviant was?
Someone who had had a label successfully applied
What is Primary Deviance?
Primary deviance is an act which has not been labelled by society as deviant
