Traditional Marxism

Question 1

What is the function of the criminal justice system for Marxists?

Answer 1

To serve ruling class interests and maintain the capitalist economy.

Question 2

According to Marxists, what 3 elements does crime have?

Answer 2

• Criminogenic capitalism
• The state and law making
• Ideological functions of crime and law

Question 3

Capitalism is criminogenic according to Marxists. What does this mean?

Answer 3

By its very nature, it causes crime. Capitalism is based on the exploitation of the WC to gain profit (whatever the cost). This is damaging to the WC and may give rise to crime.

Question 4

What are the 3 ways capitalism may force the WC to be criminal?

Answer 4

1. Poverty may mean that crime is the only way the working class can survive.
2. Crime may be the only way they can obtain the consumer goods encouraged by capitalist advertising, resulting in utilitarian crimes such as theft.
3. Alienation and lack of control over their lives may lead to frustration + aggression, resulting in non-utilitarian crimes such as violence and vandalism.

Question 5

Why do capitalists commit crime?

Answer 5

Capitalism encourages greed and self interest, it encourages capitalists to commit white collar + corporate crimes such as tax evasion and breach of health and safety laws to make the most profit.

Question 6

What does David Gordon argue?

Answer 6

Crime is a rational response to the capitalist system and hence it is found in all social classes - even though the official statistics make it appear to be a largely working class phenomenon.

Question 7

What is the role of the state for Marxists?

Answer 7

Law making and law enforcement serves the interest of the capitalist class.

Question 8

What does Chambliss argue?

Answer 8

Britain forced the African population to work for them by introducing a tax payable of cash that could only be earned by working on the plantations. This law served the economic interest of the capitalist plantation owners.

Question 9

What does the ruling class also have the power to do?

Answer 9

Prevent the introduction of laws that would threaten their interests. For example, there are few laws that seriously challenge the unequal distribution of wealth.

Lauren Snider argues that the capitalist state is reluctant to pass laws that regulate the activities of businessmen or threaten their profitability.

Question 10

What is Reiman’s book called and why is it called this?

Answer 10

‘The rich get richer and the poor get prison’
The more likely a crime is to be committed by higher-class people, the less likely it is to be treated as a criminal offence.

There are high rates of prosecutions for street crimes committed by poorer people e.g. burglary yet with crimes committed by higher classes such as tax evasion, the criminal justice system takes a more forgiving view.

Question 11

How does the law, crime and criminals perform an ideological function for capitalism?

Answer 11

Laws are passed that appear to be for the benefit of the working class rather than capitalism such as workplace health and safety laws. However Pearce argues such laws benefit the ruling class too by keeping workers fit for work. By giving capitalism a caring face, such laws also create false consciousness among the workers.

Question 12

Give an example of law performing an ideological function for capitalism

Answer 12

Laws are not rigorously enforced e.g. Carson studied 200 firms and found that they had all broken health and safety laws at least once, yet only 1.5% of these cases resulted in prosecution.

Question 13

What is the result of ideological functions of crime and law?

Answer 13

Because the state enforces the law selectively, crime appears to be largely a working class phenomenon. This divides the WC by encouraging workers to blame the criminals in their midst for their problems, rather than capitalism.

Question 14

How does the media and some criminologists contribute?

Answer 14

The media and some criminologists also contribute by portraying criminals as disturbed individuals, thereby concealing the fact that it is the nature of capitalism that makes people criminals.

Question 15

What are the positives of the Marxist explanation?

Answer 15

• Offers a useful explanation of the relationship between crime + capitalist society. It shows the link between law making and enforcement and the interests of the capitalist class.
• This view has influenced recent approaches to the study of the crimes of the powerful. E.g. Gary Slapper + Steve Tombs argue that corporate crime is under-policed and rarely prosecuted or punished severely. This encourages companies to use crime as a means of making profit, often at the expense of the workers or consumers.

Question 16

Give some criticisms of the traditional Marxist approach?

Answer 16

• it ignores the relationship between crime and important non-class inequalities such as ethnicity and gender
• it is too deterministic and over-predicts the amount of crime in the working class : not all poor people commit crime, despite the pressures of poverty
• not all capitalist societies have high crime rates e.g. Japan and Switzerland have less crime than the USA. However, Marxists point out that societies with little or no welfare state provision, such as the USA, tend to have higher crime rates
• The criminal justice system does sometimes act against the interests of the capitalist class. E.g. prosecutions for corporate crime do occur - However Marxists argue that such occasional prosecutions perform an ideological function in making the system seem impartial
• Left realists argue that Marxism largely focuses on the crimes of the powerful and ignores intra-class crimes (where both the criminals and victims are WC) such as burglary and ‘mugging’ which cause great harm to victims.