Left Realism

Like Marxists, what do left realists see society as?

An unequal capitalist one.

Unlike Marxists, what are left realists?

Reformist rather than revolutionary socialists: they believe in gradual change rather than the violent overthrow of capitalism as a way to achieve greater equality. They believe we need explanations of crime that will lead to practical strategies rather than waiting for a classless society to abolish crime.

What is the central idea behind left realism?

That crime is a real problem, and one that particularly affects the disadvantaged groups who are its main victims.

What do left theorists accuse other sociologists of?

Not taking crime seriously.

How do left realists criticise Marxists?

Marxists have concentrated on crimes of the powerful, such as corporate crime. Left realists agree that this is important, but argue that it neglects working-class crime and its effects.

How do left realists criticise Neo-Marxists?

They romanticise working-class criminals as latter-day Robin Hoods, stealing from the rich as an act of political resistance to capitalism. Left realists point out that in fact working-class criminals mostly victimise other working class people, not the rich.

How do left realists criticise labelling theorists?

They see working-class criminals as the victims of discriminatory labelling by social control agents - left realists argue that this approach neglects real victims - working class people who suffer at the hands of criminals

What is part of the left realists’ project of taking crime seriously?

Recognising that from the 1950s on, there was a real increase in crime, especially working class crime, especially working-class crime.

What does Young argue the increase in crime in the 1950s led to?

An aetiological crisis - a crisis in explanation for theories of crime.

What do other sociologists argue about the increase in crime?

Critical criminology and labelling theory tend to deny that the increase was real. Instead, they argue that it was just the result of increased reporting, or an increased tendency to label the poor.

What do left theorists argue about the increase in crime?

That it was real: more people were reporting crime because more people were actually falling victim to crime.

What does taking seriously also involve?

Recognising who is most affected by crime.

What do local victim surveys show?

That the scale of the problem is even greater than that shown by official statistics: disadvantaged groups have a greater risk of becoming victims, especially of burglary, street crime and violence.

What does the second part of the left realist project to rake crime seriously involve?

Explaining the rise in crime from the 1950s.

What do Lola and Young identify?

Three causes of crime.

What are the causes of crime according to Lola and Young?

• Relative deprivation.

• Subculure.

• Marginalisation.

For Lola and Young, what does crime have its roots in?

Deprivation, however, deprivation in itself is not directly responsible for crime.

For example, poverty was rife in the 1930s, yet crime rates were low. By contrast, since the 1950s, living standards have rising, but so too has the crime rate.

What do left theorists draw on Runciman’s concept of relative deprivation to do?

Explain crime.

What does relative deprivation refer to?

How deprived someone feels in relation to others, or compared with their own expectations.

What do Lea and Young explain?

The paradox that today’s society is both more prosperous and more crime-ridden. Although people are better off, they are now more aware of relative deprivation due to the media and advertising, whish raise everyone’s expectations for material possessions. Those who cannot afford them may resort to crime instead. However, relative depression alone does not necessarily lead to crime.

Since relative deprivation alone does not necessarily lead to crime, what does Young argue?

That the ‘lethal combination is relative deprivation and individualism‘.

What is individualism?

A concern with the self and one’s own individual rights rather than those of the group. IT causes crime by encouraging the pursuit of self-interest at the expense of others.

For left realists, what is increased individualism causing?

The disintegration of families and communities by undermining the values of mutual support anf selflessness on which they are based. This weakens the informal controls that such groups exercise over individuals, creating a spiral of increasing anti-social behaviour, aggression and crime.

For left realists, what is a subculture?

A group’s collective solution to the problem of relative deprivation.

Will different groups produce different subcultural solutions to the problem of relative deprivation?

Yes; some may turn to close the ‘deprivation gap‘, while others may find that religion offers them spiritual comfort and what Weber calls a ‘theodicy of disprivilege‘ - an explanation for their disadvantage.

What may religious subcultures encourage?

Conformity.

What did Pryce identity within the African-Caribbean community in Bristol?

A variety of subcultures,including hustlers, Rastafarians, ‘saints‘ and working-class ‘respectables‘.

For left realists, what do criminal subcultures still subscribe to?

The values and goals of mainstream society, such as materialism and consumerism.

What does Young note?

That there are ghettos in the USA where there is ‘full immersion in the American dream: a culture hooked on material items‘. However, opportunities to achieve these goals legitimately are blocked, so they resort to street crime instead.

What do marginalised groups lack?

Both clear goals and organisations to represent their interests. Groups such as workers have clear goals, like better pay and conditions, and often organisations like trade unions to put pressure on employers and politicians. AS such, they have no ned to resort to violence to achieve their goals.

What are the unemployed youth?

Marginalised they have no organisation to represent them and no clear goals, just a sense of resentment and frustration. Being powerless to use political means to improve their position, they express their frustration through criminal means such as violence and rioting.

What does Young argue that we are now living in?

The stage of late modern society, where instability, security and exclusion make the problem of crime worse.1

What does Young contrast today’s society with?

The period preceding it, arguing that the 50s and 60s represented the ‘Golden Age’ of modern capitalist society. This was a period of stability, social security and social inclusion, with full employment, a fairly comprehensive welfare state, low divorce rates and relatively strong communities. There was general consensus about right and wrong, and lower crime rates.

What has increased since the 70s?

Insecurity and exclusion. De-industrialisation and the loss of unskilled jobs have increased unemployment, especially for young people and ethnic minorities, while many jobs are not short term or low paid. These changes have destabilised family and community life, as have New Right govern,ent policies to hold back welfare spending. All this has contributed to increased exclusion of those at the bottom.

What has increased the sense of relative deprivation?

Greater inequality between rich and poor and the spread of free market values encouraging individuals.

What does Young note?

The growing contrast between cultural inclusion and economic exclusion as a source of relative deprivation.

What does Young see as a source of relative deprivation?

• Media-saturated late modern society promotes cultural inclusion: even the poor have access to the media's materialistic, consumerist cultural messages.

• There is a greater emphasis on leisure, personal consumption and immediate gratification, leading to higher expectations for the 'good life'

• At the same time, despite the ideology of meritocracy, the poor are denied opportunities to gain the 'glittering prizes of a wealthy society'

What is Young’s contrast between cultural inclusion and economic exclusion similar to?

Merton’s notion of anomie - that society creates crime by setting cultural goals, while denying people the opportunity to achieve them by legitimate means.

What is a further trend in late modernity?

For relative deprivation to become generalised throughout society rather than being confined to those at the bottom. There is widespread resentment at the undeservedly high rewards that some receive, whether footballers of bankers.There is also ‘relative deprivation downwards‘.

What is ‘relative deprivation downwards‘?

Where the middle class, who have to be hardworking and disciplined to succeed in an increasingly competitive work environment, resent the stereotypical underclass as idle, irresponsible and hedonistic, living off undeserved state handoutss.

What is the result of exclusion?

The amount of and types of crime are changing in late modern society. Firstly, crime is found increasingly throughout the social structure, it is also nastier, with an increase in hate crimes - often the result of relative deprivation backwards.

Are reactions to crime changing?

Yes.

How have reactions to crime changed in late modern society?

Late modern society is more diverse and there is less public consensus on right and wrong, so that the boundary between acceptable and unacceptable behaviour becomes blurred. At the same time, informal controls become less effective as families and communities disintegrate. This makes the public more intolerant and leads to demands for harsher penalties and increased criminalisation of unacceptable behaviour. Late modern society is a high-crime society with a low tolerance for crime.

In a later study , what does Young point to?

A ‘second aetiological crisis’. Since the mid 1990s, crime has fallen substancially.

Why is the falling crime rate a problem for realist explanations?

It suggested that crime is no longer the major threat they had originally claimed.

What does Young note about the falling crime rate?

That because crime is a social construction, it may continue to be seen as a problem. The Crime survey for England and Wales shoed that 61% thought crime had risen, not fallen.

What else do crime surveys show?

A high level of public concern about anti-social behaviour. Young sees this as a result of ‘defining deviance up‘. ``

What have the government been aiming to control since the 1990s?

A widening range of behaviours, including ASBOs (Anti Social Behaviour disorders) with several key features:

• Blurring the boundaries of crime, so ‘incivilies‘ become crimes. Breaching an ASBO is itself a crime, thus ‘manufacturing‘ more crime.

• Subjective definition Anti-social behaviour has no objective definition; it is in the eye of the beholder.

• Flexibility ASBOs have been used against people wearing hoodies, making a noise, letting off fireworks, flyposting or begging, and others besides. The subjective definition means the net can be constantly widened to generate an almost endless number of infringements.

While the crime rates is going down, what have governments created?

A new ‘crime‘ wave - or anti-social behaviour wave - to replace it.

What is the final part of the left realists’ project?

To devise solutions to the problem of crime. They argue that we must both improving and control, and deal with the deeper structural causes of crime.

What do Lea and Young argue about police clear-up rates?

That they are too low to act as a deterrent to crime and that police spend too little time actually investigating crime. They argue the public mist become more involved in determining the police’s priorities and style of policing.

What do the police depend on the publc to do?

Provide them with information about crimes (90% of crimes known to the police are reported to them by the public).

What are the police loosing>

Public support, especially in the inner cities and among ethnic minorities and the young.

What has happened as a result of people loosing public support?

As a result, the flow of information dries up and police come to rely instead on military policing, such as 'swamping' an area and using random stop and search tactics. This alienates communities and results in a vicious circle: locals no longer trust the police and don't provide them with information, so the police resort to military policing, and so on.

What do left realists argue policing must be made?

Accountable to local communities and deal with local concerns. Routine beat patrols are ineffective and stop and search tactics cause conflict. Police need to improve their relationship with local communities by spending more time investigating crime, changing their priorities (they over-police minor drug crime, but under-police racist attacks and domestic violence) and involving the public in making policing policy.

What do left realists argue about crime control?

That it cannot be left to the police along - a multi-agency approach is needed. This would involve agencies such as local councils’ social services, housing departments, schools and leisure services as well as voluntary organisation and victim support, and the public.

Do left realists see improved policing and control as the main solution?

No: in their view, the causes of crime lie in the unequal structure of society and major structural changes are needed if we want to reduce crime. We must deal with: copy

Which realism has had more influence on government policy?

Left.

What does Young regard many of the policies of left realism as?

Trying to recreate the golden age of the 1950s. For example, the New Deal did not lead to secure, permanent jobs while ASBOs did not create a sense of community.

What does Young criticise?

The record of governments, including New Labour and argues that they have largely just addressed the symptoms, such as anti-social behaviour - they have been tougher on crime that on its underlying causes, such as the insecurity , inequality and discrimination that produce relative deprivation and exclusion.

What are the grounds left realism is critisised on?

• Henry and Milovanovic argue that it accepts the authorities' definition of crime as being street crime committed by the poor, instead of defining the problem as being one of how powerful groups do harm to the poor. Marxists argue that it fails to explain corporate crime, which is much more harmful.

• Interactionists argue that, because left realists rely on quantitative data from victim surveys, they cannot explain offenders' motives.

• Their use of subcultural theory means left realists assume that value consensus exists and that crime only occurs when this breaks down.

• Relative deprivation cannot fully explain crime because not all those who experience it commit crime. The theory over-predicts the amount of crime.

• Its focus on high-crime inner-city areas gives an unrepresentative view and makes crime appear a greater problem than it is.