Marxism
- Created by: ecotts
- Created on: 23-12-17 10:09
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- Marxism
- Capitalism and crime
- Capitalism is based on oppression and economic exploitation
- It creates a dog eat dog world in which greed, violence and corruption occur
- The need to win, encourages white collar crime and corporate crime
- Crime happens as a result of inequality and poverty
- It creates a dog eat dog world in which greed, violence and corruption occur
- The structure of capitalist society explains crime and they believe it has three element:
- Criminogenic capitalism
- The state and law making
- Ideological functions of crime and law
- Capitalism is based on oppression and economic exploitation
- Criminogenic Capitalism
- Crime is inevitable in capitalism because it is criminogenic -causes crime
- It exploits the working class, damaging them, leading to the increase in crime
- Poverty
- Crime is the only way the W/C can survive
- Theft
- Only way they can obtain consumer goods
- Vandalism
- Lack of control leads to frustrations non-utilitarian
- Money
- Need to make money leads to white collar crime + corporate
- Poverty
- Gordon
- Crime is a rational response to capitalist system
- The State and Law Creation
- Chambliss
- Law making and enforcement only serve the interests of a capitalist class
- Laws protect private property and are the corner-stone of capitalist economy
- Capitalist commit crimes such as fraud, however W/C likely to commit robbery
- Law making and enforcement only serve the interests of a capitalist class
- Snider
- The ruling class have the power to prevent introduction of laws that may threaten their interests
- Few laws that challenge unequal distribution of wealth
- Capitalist state reluctant to pass laws that threaten profitability
- The ruling class have the power to prevent introduction of laws that may threaten their interests
- The enforcement of laws are selective
- Powerless groups like W/C and ethnic minorities are criminalised
- Police tend to ignore the crimes of the powerful
- Chambliss
- Ideological functions of crime
- Pearce
- Laws appear to be for the benefit of the working class rather than capitalism
- However, Pearce argues that laws benefit the ruling class like keeping workers fit for work
- Because the state enforces the laws selectively, crime appears to be largely as working class phenomenon
- It divided working class by encouraging the to blame criminals for their problems, not capitalism
- Laws appear to be for the benefit of the working class rather than capitalism
- Pearce
- Criticisms
- Ignores relationship between crime and non-class inequalities such as ethnicity and gender
- Not all capitalist societies have high crime rates; such as japan and Switzerland
- Capitalism and crime
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