Marxism, Class and Crime
- Created by: chocolateflavouredmilk
- Created on: 01-03-20 12:57
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- Marxism, Class and Crime
- Criminogenic Capitalism
- Capitalism causes crime
- Capitalism is based on the exploitation of the wokring-class and is therefore partially damaging to the working-class ad this may give a rise to crime.
- Poverty means that crime is the only way the workng-clsss can survive
- Crime can be the only way they can obtain consumer goods encouraged by capitalist advertising, resulting in utilitarian crimes,
- Alienation and lack of control over their lives may lead to frustration and aggression, resulting in non-utilitarian crimes.
- Crime isn't just a working-class phenomenon as the need to win encourages capitalists to commit white collar and corproate crimes such as tax evasion.
- Gordon argues that crime is a rational response to the capitalist system and therefore is found in all classes.
- The State and Law Making
- Marxists see law making and law enforcement as only serving the interests of the capitalist class
- Chambliss argues that laws to protect private property are the cornerstore of the capitalist economy.
- The ruling class also have the power to prevent the introduction of laws that would threaten their interests
- Snider argues that the capitalist state is reluctant to pass laws that regulate the activities of businesses or threaten their profitability.
- Marxists see law making and law enforcement as only serving the interests of the capitalist class
- Selective Enforcement
- When it comes to the application of the law by the crimnal justice system, there is selective enforcement.
- Powerless groups such as the working-class and ethnic minorities are criminalised, the police and courts tend to ignore crimes of the powerful.
- Ideological Functions of Crime and Law
- Laws are occasionally passed that appear to be for the benefit of the working class rather than capitalism.
- Pearce argues that these laws benefit the ruling class as well, e.g. health and safety laws keep the workers fit for work.
- By giving capitalism a 'caring' face, such laws also create false class consciousness among the workers.
- Because the state enforces the law selectively, crime appears to be working-class phenomenon.
- This divides the working-class by encouraging the workers to blame criminals for their problems, rather than capitalism.
- Evaluation of Marxism
- It ignores the relationship between crime and other inequalities such as ethnicity and gender.
- It is too deterministic and over-predicts the amount of crime in the working-class.
- Not all capitalist societies have high crime rates for example Switzerland.
- Left realists argue that Marxism ignores intra-class crimes (where both the victim and criminal is from the same class.)
- Criminogenic Capitalism
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