Traditional Marxist Theories

How is crime understood from a Marxist perspective?

Crime & deviance in Western society can be understood in terms of capitalism & class struggles: law is enforced against powerless groups & crime is linked with the wider social & economic structures in which lawmaking, enforcement & offending take place

What does criminogenic mean?

Causes criminal behaviour

How is capitalism criminogenic?

The structure of capitalist society encourages crime because it breeds competition & commodity fetishism, meaning the proletariat commit crime to be able to conform & obtain advertised goods

What does Gordon argue about crime?

Crime is a rational response to capitalism & is found in all social classes, but official statistics make it out to be a working class phenomenon

How can the Marxist idea of criminogenic capitalism be criticised?

Deterministic in assuming that working class people will all turn to crime / Not all capitalist societies have high crime rates / Ignores the relationship between crime & non-class characteristics

What is the Marxist perspective on law-making?

Law making & enforcement only serve the ruling class’ interests

What does Chambliss argue about the state & law making?

Laws to protect the private property of the bourgeoisie are the cornerstone of capitalist society & capitalism prevents the introduction of laws that would threaten their interests

What did Chambliss find in his study?

Questioned many different people (prostitutes, pimps, police officers, governors, pimps, theives, racketeers & drug runners), found that crime is found in all strata of society but the working class are caught more

What is selective enforcement?

The idea that the crimes of the rich & powerful are rarely prosecuted while those of the working class are overpoliced; however those of the ruling class are enormous compared to others

What does Snider argue about law making?

The capitalist class is reluctant to pass laws that regulate the activities of businesses or threaten profitability

What do Marxists argue about the ideological functions of crime & control?

Capitalist ideology diverts attention from the exploitative nature of capitalism & focuses attention on the evil nature of criminal groups with little power: justifies heavy policing of the working class & the arrests of those opposing capitalism

What does Reiman argue about the ideological functions of crime & control?

Crime is portrayed as an individual moral failing rather than the result of structural inequality, thereby blaming victims, justifying poverty & supporting crackdowns on the poor rather than societal change

How does the law perform ideological functions for capitalism?

Laws appear to be for the benefit of working class but really are benefitting the ruling class more, giving capitalism a ‘caring’ image & creating a false consciousness

How do left realists criticise Marxist ideas of crime?

Marxists ignore intra-class crime & the impact that working class criminals have on other working class people

How do postmodernists criticise Marxist ideas of crime?

There is no use in explaining crime with grand narratives (Marxism & capitalism) because there are too many diverse views