Taylor: Globalisation, capitalism & crime

Question 1

capitalism

Answer 1

For socialist criminologists such as Ian Taylor (1997), the development of capitalism is the main driver for the globalisation of crime. The privatisation of state assets (e.g. transport systems) & the involvement of markets in more & more activities (the process known as marketisation – e.g. in education & healthcare) help to drive globalisation. In turn, this creates conditions which enable the growth of both transnational & local crime at both ends of the social spectrum - elites & working-class offenders alike.

For the elites, the ability to move finance around the world, with minimal control, enables a whole range of financial crimes, from tax evasion & insider trading to defrauding transnational organisations such as the European Union out of grant & subsidy money. Estimates put losses from the EU at around $7 billion per year.

Question 2

employment

Answer 2

Globalisation has also led to new patterns of employment, which have created new opportunities for crime. It has led to the increased use of subcontracting to recruit ‘flexible’ workers, often working illegally or employed for less than the minimum wage or working in breach of health & safety or other labour laws.

Global capitalism has also allowed companies to shift production to countries where production costs are lowest – this takes advantage of workers in these low income countries (such as China) as well as a decline in employment & income levels in Western Europe which has led to increased levels of crime & social disorder.

Question 3

inequalities

Answer 3

All these factors increase insecurity & widening inequalities that encourage people, especially the poor, to turn to crime. The lack of legitimate job opportunities destroys self-respect & drives the unemployed to look for illegitimate ones, for instance in the lucrative drugs trade. E.g. in Los Angeles, de industralisation has led to the growth of drugs gangs numbering 10,000 members.

Question 4

a03

Answer 4

Taylor’s theory is useful in linking global trends in the capitalist economy to changes in the pattern of crime. However, it does not adequately explain how the changes make people behave in criminal ways. E.g. not all poor people turn to crime.