Marxist view on white collar crime (corporate crime)

Occupational crime

Committed by employees simply for their own gains

Corporate crime

Committed by employees for their organisation in pursuit of its goals

• Examples are tax evasion, sexual discrimination, rights to join unions, illegal pollution of water, war on terror (state corporate crime)

What do Marxists and Neo-Marxists look at in terms of corporate crime?

They look at the power dynamics which decriminalise those crimes

• They also that the rate those white collar crimes are persecuted at a much slower rate than w/c crimes

How do Marxists argue that white collar crimes are invisible?

• The media; use of sanitised language

• Lack of political will

• Crimes are complex; law enforcement are understaffed

• De-labelling; offences are defined as civil not criminal

• Under-reporting; Victims may be unaware they have been victimised

Ideological smoke screen

Marxists argue that the belief of blue collar crimes hides real inequalities behind a social issue

What are the Marxist explanations to corporate crime happening in society?

• Strain Theory

• Differential association

• Labelling (Neo-Marxist)

• Marxism as a whole

How do Marxists use strain theory to explain corporate crime happening?

Box argues that if a company cannot achieve its goals of maximising profit by legal means, they may employ illegal ones instead

• Clinard and Yeager found law violations by larger companies increased as their financial performance deteriorated.

How do Marxists use differential association to explain white collar crimes?

Sutherland argues crime is behaviour learned from others, and when individuals associate themselves less with people who favour the law, they become more deviant

• Companies also favour/promote employees with a more competitive and aggressive personality, as they’re more willing to commit crimes

• The individual will deviate more easily if they can provide a justification to neutralise the objections.

How do Neo-Marxists use the labelling theory to explain white corporate crime?

Cirourel argues the middle class are able to negotiate non-criminal labels for their misbehaviour

• They can afford expensive lawyers and accountants to hide their financial activity, so any official statistics sociologists use will eventually underestimate.

How is Marxist theories used to explain white collar crimes?

Crimes are a result of capitalism and there is an illusion of acceptation and normality with white collar crime.

• Box sees corporations as criminogenic as if legitimate opportunities for profit are blocked, they will resort to illegal techniques (mix of Marxism and strain theory)

What is the usefulness of the Marxist perspective of white collar crime?

It challenges the view of traditional crime and pushes for the decrease of overpolicing of the w/c

• The awareness of white collar crime will change law-making companies and will theoretically deal with actual criminals.

What are the critiques to the Marxist and NM views on white collar crime?

• Capitalism causing white collar crime; doesn’t explain how crime is committed for non-profit making. Police may hide evidence to ensure a criminal wont be prosecuted, showing that they are not all primarily motivated by money. Therefore, Marxism is deterministic

• Abiding by the law may make more money than going against it since companies such as pharmaceutical companies make profit by listening to the laws implemented. If not, they would cause serious danger and shut down.

• Generalising corporate crime leads to everybody being prosecuted, even if they weren’t involved; splitting up ‘white collar crime’ into groups assists prosecutors with targeting the actual criminals