Crime and deviance neo marxism

What do Taylor et al agree with marxists on?

Capitalist society is based on exploitation and class conflict and is characterised by extreme inequalities of wealth and power.

The state makes and enforces laws in the interest of the capitalist class and criminalises members of the working class.

Capitalism should be replaced by a classless society because it would reduce the extent of crime or get rid of crime in society entirely.

How do Taylor et al views differ from traditional marxism?

Taylor et al. argue that Marxism is deterministic.

For example, it sees workers as driven to commit crime out of economic necessity.

They reject this explanation, along with theories that claim crime is caused by anomie, subcultures or biological factors.

Instead, Taylor et al. take a more voluntaristic view (the idea that people have free will).

They see crime as a meaningful action and a conscious choice by the actor.

They argue crime often has a political motive, for example, to redistribute wealth from the rich to the poor.

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

Fully social theory of deviance

Taylor et al. aim to create a fully social theory of deviance- a comprehensive understanding of crime and deviance that would help change society for the better.

This theory would have two main sources:

Marxist ideas about the unequal distribution of wealth and who has the power to make and enforce the law.

Ideals from interactionism about the meaning of the deviant act for the actor, societal reactions to it, and the effect of deviant labelling on the individual.

6 aspects which unite a complete thoery of deviance needs

The wider origins of the deviant act lie in the unequal distribution of wealth and power in capitalist society.

The immediate origins of the deviant act: the particular context in which the individual decides to commit the act.

The act itself and its meaning for the actor- e.g was it a form of rebellion against capitalism?

The immediate origins of social reaction- the reaction of those around the deviant, such as police, family and community, to discovering the deviance.

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.

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

For Taylor et al these six aspects are interrelated and need to be understood together as a part of a single unified theory.

Neo marxism strength

It gives a more complete explanation of crime and takes into account free will, rather than depicting the working class as puppets controlled by capitalism and forced into crime.

Neo marxism limitation

Romanticises working-class criminals as Robin Hoods who are fighting capitalism by redistributing wealth from the rich to the poor.

However, in reality, these criminals mostly prey on the poor.

For example, stealing or harming people in their local community.