Social control and Marxist theories of crime and devience

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How does Hirschi share similar views to Durkheim?
Believes that social order is based on shared values and socialisation through institutions integrating through society
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What makes Hirschi different to other sociologists theories of crime?
He asks why people do not commit crime as opposed to why they do
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Social bond- Belief
People share moral beliefs such as respect for rights of others and need for obedience to the law.
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Social bond- Commitment
People are committed to conventional activities like working, getting educated, raising a family and building the future. They have a stake in conformity and have no wish to risk this through crime and delinquency
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Social bond- Attachment
People are attached to those around them, like family, friends and those in their local community, and sensitive to and interested in their needs and wishes.
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Social bond- Involvement
People are involved and kept busy with sports teams, school activities, community and religious groups, and social clubs. They have no time or opportunity for crime
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What else apart from weakening social bonds contributes to crime?
Opportunities for crime have to be present as well as the lack of self control caused by the breaking of social bonds
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Evaluation of Hirschi- Importance of socialisation
It recognises the importance of socialisation and social control in maintaining a cohesive society and the idea of social integration through social bonds in well established in functionalist theory
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Evaluation of Hirschi- Contradicting evidence
It assumes those that commit crime have broken away from the social bonds in society, but Merton and Matza's work suggests that criminals are committed to those values
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Evaluation of Hirschi- Why do some have weaker bonds
Doesn't explain why some have weaker bonds than others, or why all of those with weak bonds don't turn to crime
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Evaluation of Hirschi- Ignores variety of crimes
Doesn't explain the variety of forms of crime and deviance. It doesn't recognise that it is possible to be deviant and have tight social bonds (white collar criminals)
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Evaluation of Hirschi- Everyone is a potential criminal
Suggests everyones behaviour should be monitored, those who conform resent constant surveilence, some groups may be stereotypes, it undermines respect for believe in justice system and weakens social bonds
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Marxist theory- Criminogenic society
Crime is a natural outgrowth of capitalist society, crime is a rational response to oppression, realtive poverty causes exclusion from consumer society, encouraging utalitarian crimes
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Marxist theory- Gordon
Suggests that what is suprising in criminogenic societies is not that the working class commit crime but that they don't commit more of it
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Chambliss- Laws are instruments of the working class
The laws reflect values found in ruling class ideology, the state defines acts as criminal in line with the concerns of the ruling class, such as those against private property
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Box- What is defined as a serious crime
Argues that serious crime is ideologically constructed, serious crimes are defined as those against private property and by the working class, white collar and corporate crime is understated in seriousness
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Snide- Coporate laws
The state will pass health and safety laws when forced to do so by public crisis or union agitation not off there own back
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Snide- When are corporate laws enforced
They are enforced rarely, and when they are they try to make the profit of the coporation being prosecuted as little effected as possible, as it benefits them
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How are the working class fooled into thinking the CJS is fair?
Laws thatt appear to benefit everyone, or occasional prosecution of the bourgeoisie have an ideological function providing smokescrean suggesting law is impartial, and that the ruling class offenders are effictively handeld when they are not
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What do official statistics show with relation to class and crim
The impression they give is that crime is mainly a working class phenomena
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Selective law enforcement
Those of higher social class are less likely to prosecuted for offences, generally treated more leniantly. Biggest crimes are committed by the ruling class
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Why do Neo-Marxists criticise Marxists?
Marxists are too deterministic, no one is forced into crime beyond their control as many faced with the same situation dont commit crime
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What to Neo Marxists couple together to create a theory of crime
THey couple the notion of choice a individual has about whether to offend and the view that working class crimes such as theft are meaningful symbolic political acts of resistance to ruling class oppression
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What does Gilroy see working class criminals as
Robin hood criminals, when looking at black criminals, black crime was seen as a form of resistance to class oppression and police racism and harassment
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What did Taylor et al do?
Associated with New criminology, whilst he acception the rationale behind Marxism, to fully understant crime you have to look at interactionist and structuralist apporaches
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New criminology applied to Hall et al study of black crimes
crime was used to reassert dominance of ruling class hegemony when it was under threat due to an economic and political crisis. Achieved by diverting attention away from wider social causes of the crisis onto issue of mugging and blaming black people
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According to new criminology, how was hegemony reasserted
Ruling class owned media exaggerated issue of black rime creating moral panic, this became a means of eastablish hegemony in society and preventing opposition to the ruling class
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Criticisms of (Neo) Marxism- Over emphasis of property crime
Dont say much about other crimes. Difficult to conceive how vast majority of murders or rapes could have any political motivation or meaning
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Criticisms of (Neo) Marxism- Over emphasise class inequality
They over-emphasise class inequality in relation to crime and neglect other inequalities like those relating to ethnicity and gender
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Criticisms of (Neo) Marxism- Feminist critique
Feminists regard many Marxist theories as male stream, for focussing on male criminality and making assumptions their theories can be applied to women
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Criticisms of Marxism- Too deterministic
see people as forced into crime by circumstances beyond their control ignore neo-Marxists point that people might chose crime for various reasons, and not all working class commit crime
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Criticisms of (Neo) Marxism- Difficult to interpret laws as reflecting ruling class ideology
Many that are in everyone's interest such as traffic laws, police do try to protect the public from victimization and are not simply ruling class agents solely in the business of repressing and criminalizing the working class
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Criticisms of Neo- Marxism-Ignore victims of crime
Romanticise working class crime as a symbolic political act. Left realists point out that the crimes that most to people are burglary, theft etc. which are mainly committed by wc criminals against other wc people, difficult to see them as robin hood
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

What makes Hirschi different to other sociologists theories of crime?

Back

He asks why people do not commit crime as opposed to why they do

Card 3

Front

Social bond- Belief

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

Social bond- Commitment

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

Social bond- Attachment

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
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