sociologists on punishment Flashcards
1
Q
DURKHIEM - functionalists view on punishment (expressive punishment)
A
- punishment is necessary as it upholds social solidarity and reinforces societies values - strengthens the collective conscience
- punishment is expressive: expresses societies outrage at the offence
- traditional societies had retributive justice - harsh and cruel punishment: expressive
- modern societies have restitutive justice - restore things to how they used to be i.e. compensations: its purpose is to restore societies equilibrium
2
Q
ALTHUSSER - marxist views on punishment
A
- punishment corresponds to its economic base - capitalism
- punishment is part of the repressive state apparatus
- before capitalism, peasents were kept under control with hanging/deportation etc
- capitalism: imprisonment is the dominant form of punishment
- puts a price on crime - offenders must ‘do the time to pay for their crimes’
3
Q
GARLAND - era of mass imprisonment in the USA
A
- concerns about the amount of people in prisons
- 1970s: 200,000
- 1990s: 700,000
- punishments now high up on political agenda - tough on crime policies
