traditional Marxists

criminogenic capitalism

crime in inevitable in capitalism cuz capitalism is criminogenic - by its very nature it causes crime.

capitalism is based on the exploitation of wc - using them as a means to an end (profit), whatever the human cost of doing so. it’s thus particularly damaging to the wc and this may give rise to crime:
- poverty may mean crime is the only way wc can survive
- crime may be only way they can obtain the consumer goods encouraged by capitalist advertising, resulting in utilitarian crimes, e.g. theft
- alienation and lack of control over their lives may lead to frustration and aggression, resulting in non-utilitarian crimes, e.g. violence and vandalism

but, crime isn’t confined to wc. capitalism is a 'dog eat dog' system of ruthless competition among capitalists, while the profit motive encourages a mentality of greed and self-interest. the need to win at all costs or go out of business, along with the desire for self-enrichment, encourages capitalists to commit white collar and corporate crimes e.g. tax evasion and breaches of health and safety laws.

Gordon (1976) → crime is a rational response to the capitalist system and hence it’s found in all social classes - even though official stats make it appear to be a largely wc phenomenon.

the state and law making

law making and law enforcement only serve the interests of rc. e.g. Chambliss (1975) → laws to protect private property are the cornerstone of the capitalist economy.

illustrates this with the case of the intro of English law into Britain's East African colonies. Britain's economic interests lay in the colonies' tea, coffee and other plantations, which needed a plentiful supply of local labour.

at the time, the local economy wasn’t a money economy and so, to force the reluctant African population to work for them, the British introduced a tax payable in cash, non-payment of which was a punishable criminal offence. since cash to pay the tax could only be earned by working on the plantations, the law served the economic interests of the capitalist plantation owners.

rc have the power to prevent the intro of laws that would threaten their interests. e.g. there are few laws that seriously challenge the unequal distribution of wealth. similarly, Snider (1993) → the capitalist state is reluctant to pass laws that regulate the activities of businesses or threaten their profitability.

selective enforcement

Marxists agree with labelling theorists that although all classes commit crime, when it comes to the application of the law by the CJS, there’s selective enforcement.

while powerless groups such as wc and EMs are criminalised, the police and courts tend to ignore crimes of the powerful.

ideological functions of crime and law

laws occasionally passed appear benefit wc rather than capitalism, e.g. workplace health and safety laws.

but, Pearce (1976) → such laws often benefit rc too - e.g. by keeping workers fit for work. by giving capitalism a 'caring' face, such laws also create false consciousness among the workers.

in any case, such laws aren’t rigorously enforced. e.g. Jenabi (2014) → despite a new law against corporate homicide being passed in 2007, in its first 8yrs there was only one successful prosecution of a UK company - despite the large numbers of deaths at work estimated to be caused by employers' negligence.

the state enforces the law selectively, so, crime appears to be largely a wc phenomenon. this divides the wc by encouraging workers to blame the criminals in their midst for their problems, rather than capitalism.

the media and some criminologists contribute by portraying criminals as disturbed individuals, thereby concealing that it’s the nature of capitalism that makes people criminals.

AO3 - limitation of Marxist theories of crime: crime and non-class inequalities

ignores the relationship between crime and non-class inequalities such as ethnicity and gender

AO3 - limitation of Marxist theories of crime: deterministic

over-predicts the amount of crime in wc: not all wc commit crime, despite the pressures of poverty.

AO3 - limitation of Marxist theories of crime: crime rates

- not all capitalist societies high crime rates; e.g. homicide rate in Japan and Switzerland is only about a fifth of that in the USA
- COUNTER: Marxists point out, societies with little or no state welfare provision, e.g. USA, tend to have higher crime rates

AO3 - limitation of Marxist theories of crime: CJS against rc interests

- CJS sometimes acts against interests of rc, e.g. prosecutions for corporate crime do occur
- COUTNER: Marxists argue such occasional prosecutions perform an ideological function in making the system seem impartial

AO3 - limitation of Marxist theories of crime: left realists

Marxism ignores intra-class crimes (where both the criminals and victims are wc), which cause great harm to victims.