Neo-Marxism: critical criminology

who are neo-marxists?

sociologists who have been influenced by many of the ideas put forward by Marxism, but they combine these with ideas from other approaches such as labelling theory

similarities with Marxism

• capitalist society is based on exploitation and class conflict and characterised by extreme inequalities of wealth and power

• the state makes and enforces laws in the interests of the capitalist class and criminalises members of the working class

• capitalism should be replaced by a classless society, this would reduce the extent of crime or even get rid of it entirely

criticising marxists - anti-determinism

taylor et al argue that Marxism is deterministic, e.g. it sees workers as driven to commit crime out of economic necessity. neo-marxists reject this along with other claims that crime is caused by other external factors such as anomie, subcultures or labelling, or by biological and psychological factors

voluntarism definition

the idea that we have free will - the opposite of determinism

voluntaristic view

they see crime as meaningful action and a conscious choice by the actor, particularly argue that crime often has a political motive e.g. to redistribute wealth from the rich to the poor

criminals are not puppets whose behaviour is shaped by capitalism: they are deliberately striving to change society

what is a ‘fully social theory of deviance’?

a comprehensive understanding of crime and deviance that would help to change society for the better

two main sources of a ‘fully social theory of deviance’

• marxist ideas about the unequal distribution of wealth and who has the power to make and enforce the law

• ideas from interactionism and labelling theory about the meaning of the deviant act for the actor, societal reactions to it, and the effects of the deviant label on the individual

according to neo-marxists, a complete theory of deviance needs to unite six aspects: - they are interrelated and need to be understood together as part of a single unified theory

1. the wider origins of the deviant act

2. the immediate origins of the deviant act

3. the act itself

4. the immediate origins of social reaction

5. the wider origins of social reaction

6. the effects of labelling

1. wider origins of the deviant act

considering the unequal distribution of wealth and power in capitalist society

2. the immediate origins of the deviant act

the particular context in which the individual decides to commit the act

3. the act itself

and it’s meaning for the actor - e.g. a form of rebellion against capitalism?

4. the immediate origins of social reaction

the reactions of those around the deviant, such as police, family and community, to discovering the deviance

5. the wider origins of social reaction

in the structure of capitalist society - especially the issue of who has the power to define actions as deviant and to label others, and why some acts are treated more harshly than others

6. the effects of labelling

on the deviant’s future actions - e.g. why does labelling lead to deviance amplification in some cases but not others?

evaluation of critical criminology

• feminists criticise it for being ‘gender blind’, focusing on male criminality at the expense of female criminality

• left realists - critical criminology romanticises working class criminals as ‘Robin Hoods’ who are fighting capitalism, but in reality these criminals mostly prey on the poor

• left realists - taylor et al do not take such crime seriously and they ignore effects on working class victims

• too general to explain crime and too idealistic to be useful in tackling crime