Capitalism can only thrive while
the working classes are exploted
The class which tends to gain the most is the 'ruling class'
Crime in the working class, "blue collar" is thought by Marxists to be
caused by their frustration on the ruling classes and being exploited
Marxists believe, like functionalists, that crime is
crucial to ensuring conformity and order among the rest
Modern Marxists suggest the
media makes the working class
conform to being manipulated
Deviance is a result of inequality
While the state passes laws to help the ruling class, working
class are not satisfied with what they have
As they cannot reach their rulers, they resort to deviance acts against others
Marxists believe that crime is social class related
Result of working class oppression
Functionalism
Emile Durkheim came up
with this theory
He believed that deviance (in small amounts) is
necessary in order for society to function properly
This comes from the idea that when
everyday people see deviant behaviour, it
strengthens their morals and brings society
closer together against that type of behaviour
Deviance contradicts the collective sentiments of the
wider group, meaning a small amount of crime will bring
people together
Functionalism marks the extremities of deviant behaviour
Labelling Theory
A theory by Howard Becker
The idea that if people are
labelled or branded as something
they will begin to take it on as
truth and start acting in said way
An example of this would be youths in a rundown area or from a poor
background being consistently stereotyped as thugs who will join gangs
and amount to nothing
They are being fed this idea that they are good for nothing other
than being delinquent who commits crime and so may feel there is
no hope for themselves and resort to what everybody thinks of them
anyway
Merton's Strain Theory
The idea that people feel strained and under pressure
to achieve cultural goals, but there are no easy means
for them to achieve them
People feel pressurised to have
certain things, live a certain way etc.
and it can be difficult to achieve these things
Merton's theory suggests that people act
deviantly as an attempt to achieve these
goals set out by society
An example would be somebody who can't afford
a smartphone, and feels so excluded and
pressured into feeling the need to have one that
they go and steal one
A further example would be drug dealers who have dismissed the culturally
acceptable way of making money but still desire to abide by the cultural
value of making money