justice studies midterm 1

consensus perspective

main ideas:

• Criminal law reflects society’s consensus about what is morally right and wrong

• Criminal law is a self-evident reflection of agreed upon morals and values

  • Certain behaviors are criminal because society has come to a consensus that they are morally wrong, threaten the social order; and should be punished

consensus perspective: social contract theory

individuals must relinquish some of their freedom to the state exchange for security and social order

without a strong state to enforce the law, society would devolve into anarchy

the state exists to protect the rights of individuals

enlightenment movement (1500s-1700s)

cultural and political movement emphasizing scientific reasoning over superstition, religion and tradition

foundation of liberalism

individual liberty, equality before the law, religious tolerance, natural rights

liberalism: from subjects to citizens

subjects are under the power of a monarch or dictator

• loyalty and obedience in exchange for protection

citizens possess power as a self-governing community

• obligation to actively participate in self-governance as equals

thomas hobbes (1588-1679)

english political philosopher

• what makes a government legitimate?

• why should people obey their rules

• author of Leviathan (1651)

  • foundational work of social contract theory

• hobbes’s views of human nature

  • humans are inherently selfish and violent

  • without a strong government to provide protection, society will descend into anarchy: a “war of all against all”

  • life would be “nasty, brutish, and short”

  • absolute government authority is more important than individual rights

    • the government’s main job is to control crime

  • conclusion: agreement between citizens and the government, citizens submit to government authority in exchange for protection

john locke (1632-1704)

english political philosopher

author of Two Treatises of Government (1690)

“father of liberalism”

locke’s social contract theory

• humans possess inherent “natural rights”

  • freedom, equality, self-determination

• a nation’s’ government requires the consent of citizens in order to be seen as legitimate

• citizens agree to surrender absolute freedom in exchange for protection and security

• but, if the government unjustly threatens citizens’ lives, citizens no longer have to abide by the government’s authority

• conclusion: individual rights and limited government, if fail to protect individual rights, they are no longer legitimate, individual rights are more important that absolute government power

  • the government’s main job is to protect citizens from arbitrary punishment

consensus perspective: sociological theory

emile durkheim (1858-1917)

• how do societies create and maintain social solidarity?

  • relationships that bind people together into unified group

  • sense of shared purpose and belonging

  • mutual trust, interdependence and cooperation

• what explains social order and stability?

• what prevents complex, modern societies from devolving into chaos and anarchy?

• punishment’s primary function is to reinforce social solidarity

  • public rituals to re-affirms collective values

  • collective outrage against offenders reinforces in-group solidarity

  • public ceremonies of punishment

    • brings the public together in a shared space

    • communicates shared values and identity

    • reinforces boundaries between insiders and outsiders

conflict perspective

criminal law reflects the interest of the ruling class

the ruling class uses criminal law to maintain the power and privilege over subordinate groups

• ruling elites use law to protect their advantages, control political and economic resources, and repress social change

jean-jacques rousseau (conflict perspective)

humans are inherently cooperative

• humans are driven by self-preservation and can only survive in nature through cooperation

humans are driven to violence through resource scarcity and inequality

the role of government is to grant security by removing the root sources of conflict

• the main job of government is to provide economic security and reduce inequality

punishment and political economy

karl marx (1818-1883)

• german philosopher

• theory of historical materialism

  • human behavior and history are determined by economic (material) forces

    • economic development and class struggle determine the course of human

    • human behavior is driven by class interests

• focus on understanding and critiquing capitalism

• capitalism in fundamentally system of exploitation

  • the capitalist class (bourgeoisie) gets rich by underplaying the working class (proletariat) for their labor

• criminal law upholds the status quo capitalist exploitation

  • threat of punishment ensures the working class will accept their place aas exploitable workers

  • controls the disorders created by unemployed masses

capitalist class (bourgeoisie)

material conditions:

• own society’s means of production (factors, machines, property. raw material, software etc)

• accumulate profit, wealth, and political power through exploitation of workers

class interests:

• perpetual profit growth

• maximize profit by minimizing labor costs

• pay workers less than the value of their labor

• prevent workers from demanding better conditions

working class (proletariat)

material conditions:

• must sell their labor to capitalists for a wage in order to survive

• must constantly work to ensure daily survival

class interests:

• form unions to demand better wages and working conditons

• create collective ownership of the means of the production

law serves the interest of the capitalist class

• law upholds the status quo of capitalist exploitation

  • protects private ownership of the means of production

  • allows capitalists to set low wages via “freedom” of contractual relationships

• criminal law upholds the social order

  • threat of punishment ensures the working class will accept their place as exploitable workers

  • controls the disorder created by the unemployed masses

crime control model of criminal justice

the repression of crime is the most important function of government

the emphasis is on the rapid arrest, charging, conviction, and sentencing of the guilty

limiting the appeals process in order to remove antisocial individuals from society