Topic 3 - Class, Power, and Crime (Marxist Theories) Flashcards
1
Q
Working class crime - Functionalism
A
- Not everyone is socialised into the same set of shared values
- MILLER working class have their own subcultural values which clash with the mainstream values
2
Q
Working class crime - Labelling theory
A
- Other theorists are problem takers and assume the stats are correct
3
Q
A03 Working class crime - Labelling theory
A
- Labelling theorists are the problem makers
- They change the official statistics and seek to investigate the power of control agents to label working class people as criminal
4
Q
Working class crime - Subcultural theories: CLOWARD and OHLIN
A
- Use the concept of illegitimate opportunity structures to explain why a range of different crimes are more prevalent within the working class
5
Q
Working class crime - Subcultural theories: COHEN
A
- Argues the working class are culturally deprived and at the bottom of the status hierarchy and so feel status frustration
- Delinquent subcultures offer them alternative status hierarchy
6
Q
Working class crime - Strain theory: MERTON
A
- Lower classes are denied the most opportunity, whilst still being fed societies cultural goals of money, therefore more likely to feel the strain and pursue illegitimate opportunities
7
Q
Criminogenic capitalism
A
- Capitalism by its very nature causes crime
- Ruthless “dog eat dog” competition system amongst capitalists while the profit encourages greed and self-interest
- GORDON argues crime is a rational response to the capitalist and as a direct consequence crime is found in all social classes
8
Q
A03 Criminogenic capitalism
A
- GORDON however, not reflected by official statistics which makes it appear that crime is largely working class phenomenon
9
Q
The state and law making
A
- Marxists take the view that the law and agencies of social control such as the police serves only the interests of the ruling class
10
Q
CHAMBLISS
A
- CHAMBLISS uses the introduction of English law into Britain’s East African colonies
- The economic interests of Britain lay in tea and coffee production in East African colonies and a plentiful supply of local labour was required to ensure British success
- Local East African economy was not money based = reluctancy to work
- British introduced a tax that could only be paid in cash, not paying this was a criminal offence
- The tax could only be paid by working in the plantations to earn cash = served the interests of capitalist plantation owners
- SINDER it is still the case that the capitalist state is still always reluctant to pass laws that regulate businesses and threaten their profitability
11
Q
Selective enforcement
A
- The powerless groups are criminalised, whilst the crimes of the powerful groups are ignored
- REIMAN “the rich get richer and the poor get prison”
- Crimes committed by the ruling class such as tax evasion and health and safety violations get ignored
12
Q
Ideological functions and the law
A
- Laws are occasionally passed that appear to be for the benefit of the subject class, e.g., health and safety laws
- PEARCE health and safety laws also benefit the ruling class by keeping workers fit to work = creates a false consciousness
13
Q
A03 Evaluation points
A
- Ignores the relationship between crime and important non-class abilities e.g., gender and ethnicity
- Too deterministic as not all poor people commit crime
- Not all capitalist societies have high crime rates e.g., Japan
- CJS sometimes acts against interest of capitalist class e.g., prosecutions for corporate crime
- LR argues marxists ignore intra-class crime of crime where both criminal and victim are apart of the same class
14
Q
Neo-marxism
A
- Critical criminology
- Combination of traditional marxist views with ideas from interactionists and labelling theorists
- TAYLOR, WALTON, and YOUNG
15
Q
Points agreeing with marxism (Neo)
A
- Capitalist society is based on exploitation and class conflict and characterised by extreme inequalities of wealth and power
- State selectively enforces and makes laws that criminalise the working class
- Capitalism should be replaced by a classless society as this would reduce crime and remove it in the long term
16
Q
Points disagreeing with marxism (Neo)
A
- TAYLOR ET AL argues marxism is too deterministic arguing workers are driven to commit crime out of economic necessity
- They present an anti-deterministic explanation of crime arguing there is a voluntaristic element
17
Q
Anti-determinism
A
- Neo Marxists (TAYLOR) reject any explanation for crime that states it is caused by external factors e.g., anomie, subcultures, and labelling
- They take a voluntaristic approach with the assumption that we have free will
- They believe crime is a meaningful action
- People choose to commit the crime (redistribute wealth to the poor)
18
Q
Neo-Marxist view
A
- Aim to create a classless socialist society and social equality whilst embracing individual liberty and diversity
19
Q
A fully social theory of deviance
A
1 The wider origins of the deviant act
2 The immediate origins of the deviant act
3 The act itself
4 The immediate origins of societal reaction
5 The wider origins of societal reaction
6 The effects of labelling
20
Q
A03 Neo-Marxism
A
- CRITICAL CRIMINOLOGISTS romanticise criminals such as Robin Hood type figures who are fighting capitalism by re-distributing wealth from the rich to the poor
- Fail to address the effect of crime on working class
- BURKE argues critical criminologists explanations are too general and idealistic so are no use in terms of crime reduction strategies
21
Q
White collar crime
A
- SUTHERLAND
- A crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation
22
Q
Corporate crime
A
- TOMBS and PEARCE
- Any illegal act or omission that are the result of deliberate or culpable negligence by a legitimate business organisation that is intended to benefit the business
23
Q
Scale and types of corporate crime
A
- TOMBS: physical, economic, and environmental
Types of crime: - Financial crime
- Crimes against consumers
- Crimes against employers
- Crimes against the environment
- State-corporate crime
24
Q
Abuse of trust
A
- UK dentists have claimed pay-outs from the NHS for treatment they haven’t done
25
Q
Invisibility of corporate crime
A
- The media
- Lack of political will
- The crimes are often complex
- De-labelling
- Under reporting
26
Q
The media
A
- Limited coverage which reinforces the edits that crime is a working class phenomenon
27
Q
Lack of political will
A
- To tackle corporate crime, tough on crime is focussed on street crime with Home Office excluding corporate crime from their surveys
28
Q
The crimes are often complex
A
- Law enforcement are often understaffed, under resourced, and lack the technological expertise to investigate
29
Q
De-labelling
A
- Corporate crime is often filtered out and defined as civil rather than criminal
30
Q
Under-reporting
A
- The victim is usually society rather than 1 victim so do not realise they are a victim
31
Q
A03 Invisibility of corporate crime
A
- Corporate crime is becoming partially visible
32
Q
Explanations of corporate crime - Stain theory
A
- BOX argues when companies cannot achieve the goal of maximising profit by legal means, they may employ illegal means
- CLINARD and YEAGAR found law violations increased as a company’s financial performance decrease - suggesting innovation
33
Q
Explanations of corporate crime - Differential association
A
- SUTHERLAND sees crime as behaviour learned in social context
Deviant subculture: socialise new members into deviant groups
Techniques of neutralisation: individuals deviate more easily if they are able to justify their actions
34
Q
Explanations of corporate crime - Marxism
A
- BOX argues capitalism has created a ‘mystication’ (an ideology that corporate crime is less harmful and widespread than working class crime)
35
Q
Explanations of corporate crime - Labelling theory
A
- Whether or not an act is criminal depends on if a label has been successfully applied
36
Q
A03 Corporate crime
A
- Both strain theory and Marxism over predict the amount of business crime. NELKEN would argue it is unrealistic to assume all businesses would offend if not for punishment = deterministic
- If capitalist pursuit of profit is the cause of corporate crime this doesn’t explain corporate crime in non-profit organisations such as the police
- Law abiding could actually be more profitable
