Lea and Young- Left Realists

What is left realism?

• Left Realism developed in response to the need for sociology to find real solutions to criminal behaviour

• Drawing on ideas of structural inequality and the interactions between people and the state, set out to provide realistic solutions to criminal behaviour

• Reaction to the Influence of Right Realism

What is multiple aetology?

• Young suggested that crime was a result of many factors interacting with one another- multiple aetiology

• No single is the cause of crime- crime is the result of a mixture of informal and formal social controls, structural inequalities and the agency of the offender

What did Lea and Young find?

• Lea and Young argued that there were three key factors influencing levels of crime:

  • Relative deprivation

  • Subcultures

  • Marginalisation

What is relative deprivation?

• Crime rates are higher amongst those in the lower social and economic strata of society

• Pressures of media to achieve economic success leave people feeling deprived in relation to others

• The need for parity with others leads to crime

What are subcultures?

• Ethnic minorities respond by forming delinquent subcultures - producing higher levels of utilitarian crime

• Collectivist values of subcultures provide forms of relief from relative deprivation

• This can be gained through achieving status or through disorganised crime to meet the needs of lifestyle

• Links to anti-school subcultures and youth subcultures as coping mechanisms for blocked opportunities

What is marginalisation?

• Marginalised groups have minimal representation in society and express frustrations through violent and aggressive means

• The role of the media, government and social institutions impacts the marginalisation of groups, leading to feeling ‘left out’ or ‘left behind’

What is the evaluation of lea and young?

• Lea and Young’s work draws upon a range of influences from different perspectives

• Influential and forming policy and providing solutions to crime, particularly under New Labour

• The impacts of capitalism accelerated in a global era, but recorded crime has fallen