8772480
Description
Mind Map by Bethan Hart, updated more than 1 year ago
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Created by Bethan Hart
about 7 years ago
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Marxism, class and
crime
- Agree with labelling theorists that the law is
enforced disproportionately against the w/class so
official stats cannot be taken at face value
- Criticise labelling theory for failing to
examine the wider structure of
capitalism within which law making,
enforcing and offending take place
- Structural theory - sees society as a structure
in which the economic base (capitalist
economy) determines the shape of the
structure which is made up of all institutions
- Criticise labelling theory for failing to
examine the wider structure of
capitalism within which law making,
enforcing and offending take place
- Criminogenic capitalism
- Crime is inevitable in capitalism because capitalism is
criminogenic - causes crime by its very nature
- Capitalism is based on the
exploitation of the working
class which may give rise to
crime:
- Poverty may mean crime is the only way w/class can survive
- Crime may be the only way they can obtain consumer
goods encouraged by capitalist advertising
- Alienation and lack of control may lead to frustration and aggression
- Alienation and lack of control may lead to frustration and aggression
- Crime may be the only way they can obtain consumer
goods encouraged by capitalist advertising
- Poverty may mean crime is the only way w/class can survive
- However, crime is not confined to the w/class -
capitalism is a 'dog eat dog' system of ruthless
competition, therefore businesses must win at all
costs of go out of business
- Encourages capitalists to commit white collar
crime and corporate crimes such as tax
evasion
- Encourages capitalists to commit white collar
crime and corporate crimes such as tax
evasion
- Crime is inevitable in capitalism because capitalism is
criminogenic - causes crime by its very nature
- The state and law making
- Law making and enforcement only serves
the interests of the ruling class
- The ruling class have the power to prevent the introduction of
laws that would threaten their interests - e.g. there are few laws
that challenge the unequal distribution of wealth
- Snider - capitalist state is reluctant to
pass laws that would threaten their
profitability
- Selective enforcement - while
powerless groups e.g. the
w/class and ethnic minorities
are criminalised, the police
and courts tend to ignore the
crimes of the powerful
- Law making and enforcement only serves
the interests of the ruling class
- Ideological functions of crime and law
- Laws are occasionally passed that appear to be for the benefit of the
w/class rather than capitalism, e.g. health and safety laws
- Pearce - these laws benefit the ruling class too; e.g. by keeping
workers fit for work, thus creating false consciousness among workers
- Pearce - these laws benefit the ruling class too; e.g. by keeping
workers fit for work, thus creating false consciousness among workers
- Due to selective law enforcement, crime appears to be a
largely w/class phenomenon - this divides the w/class by
encouraging workers to blame the criminals for their
problems, rather than capitalism
- The media and some criminologists also portray
criminals as disturbed individuals, concealing the
fact that capitalism is to blame
- Laws are occasionally passed that appear to be for the benefit of the
w/class rather than capitalism, e.g. health and safety laws
- Evaluation of
Marxism
- Offers a useful explanation of the relationship between crime and
capitalist society - showing the link between law making and
enforcement and the interests of r/class
- Left realists - Marxism ignores
intra-class crimes (where both
criminals and victims are w/class)
- Left realists - Marxism ignores
intra-class crimes (where both
criminals and victims are w/class)
- Largely ignores relationship between crime and
non-class inequalities e.g. ethnicity and gender
- Not all capitalist societies have high crime
rates; e.g. Japan and Switzerland
- CJS sometimes does act against the
interests of the capitalist class, e.g.
prosecutions for corporate crime do
occur
- Not all capitalist societies have high crime
rates; e.g. Japan and Switzerland
- Too deterministic and exaggerates the
amount of w/class crime; not all poor
people commit crime
- Offers a useful explanation of the relationship between crime and
capitalist society - showing the link between law making and
enforcement and the interests of r/class
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