left realism

Who developed this idea in the 80s and 90s

Lea and Young

How do left realists see society

Like Marxists as an unequal capitalist society

How are they unlike Marxists

They are reformists rather than revolutionary socialises

How do they criticise Marxists

Marxists are concentrated on crimes of the powerful, this neglects working class crime and its effects

How do they criticise neo-Marxists

Neo-Marxists romanticise working class criminals as later-day Robin Hoods, however according to Left Realists working class criminals mostly victimise other working-class people

How do they criticise the labelling theory

Labelling theory- working class as victims of discriminatory labelling by social control Agents but neglect the real victims

How do left realists see the best way to tackle crime

The best way to reduce crime is to reduce the causes of crime

What do left realists recognise on crime

An increase in crime rates, as disadvantaged groups have the greatest fear of crime, and it has the greasiest effect of their lives

What is the Aetiological crisis

recognises that from the 50s there was a real increase in crime, according to Young this led to an Artiological crisis- a crisis in explanation

What do local victim surveys show

Local victim surveys shows that disadvantaged groups have a greater risk of becoming victims, especially of burglary, street crime and violence

What does taking crime seriously involve

Involves recognising who is most affected by crime

What are the 3 main causes of crime to Young

Young-

•relative deprivation

•subculture

•marginalisation

What is relative deprivation to Runciman

Runciman- refers to some individuals being relatively deprived in comparison to others, and this therefore leads to a sense of injustice and resentment

What do Lea and Young say on relative deprivation

Lea and Young- found that ethnic minorities feel resentment due to relative deprivation as they see there to be unfair and biased policing in their community

Why are people more aware of relative deprivation in today’s society

Although people are better off, they are more aware of relative deprivation due to the media and advertising stressing the importance of economic success and the consumption of consumer goods

Why do some resort to crime

Those who cannot afford material possessions may resort to crime instead

What do Lea and Young argue, rather than Merton

Lea and Young- argued that rising crime is partly the result of rising expectations for higher standards of living, combined with restricted opportunities to achieve this success because for example, of educational barrier, discrimination and unemployment

What is Jack Young’s ‘Ten Points of Realism’

Jack Young- stressed that relative deprivation is experienced in all social strata. Anybody can feel deprived and ‘crime can, therefore, occur anywhere in the social structure and at any period, affluent or otherwise’

What can relative deprivation explain

It can explain the theft of luxuries as well as necessities and crimes committed by white collar criminals who crave the lifestyles of those better off then themselves

what does relative deprivation explain to Young

Young- relative deprivation can also help explain violent crime as relative deprivation can cause frustration, which in turn can cause violence

What does the increase individualism cause

Increasing individualism causes the disintegration of families and communities by undermining the values of mutual support and selflessness on which they are based

What is a subculture

Groups of young people, who form sub-cultural groups in inner city areas

How does relative deprivation form subcultures

A collective solution to the problem of relative deprivation as different groups may produce different subcultural solutions to this problem- some turn to crime

What is ‘theodicy of deprivilege’ by Weber

Weber - explanation for their disadvantage as others may find religion offers them spiritual comfort

What did Messner and Golden say on subcultures

Messner and Golden - found that where racial discrimination existed deep violent subcultures flourished

Why might religious subcultures encourage conformity according to Pryce

Pryce- study of African Caribbean community in Bristol- there were a verirrt of subcultures including, hustlers, saints, Rastafarians and working class ‘respectable’

What do subcultures do for realists

For left realists, subcultures still subscribe to the values and goals of mainstream society- such as materialism and consumerism

Marginalisation

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What is marginalisation

This refers to the individuals who live on the margins of society and therefore cannot take part in society, lacking clear goals and organisations to represent their interests

What do Gibbs and Merighi argue on marginalisation

Gibbs and Merighi- argues that the black community are marginalised in terms of poverty, housing, education and jobs = anger and frustration leading to crime

What is ‘from inclusive to exclusive society’

Congrats the present day with what he describes as the ‘Golden Age’ of the 1950s and 1960s when most members of the working class could find secure employment, the state was committed to trying to maintain full employment, or something near to it and the welfare state provided important citizenship rights for all members of society

What are core values shared by

Core values are shared by most of the population centred around work and family life. A sense of community was stronger than today

What do these characteristics produce

All of these characteristics together produced a ‘structure’ in which most people felt included

What happened to these structures in the 70s

By the 1970s, this structure was beginning to unravel

how did Young explain these structures unraveling

Young- this was brought about by a shift from Fordist to post- Fordist production

Why did post- fordism move away from mass production

Post-fordism moved away from the mass production of standardised products towards more specialist production of a wider range of products. It brought with it greater economic insecurity as unemployment became more common. It led to more people being employed in insecure work in the secondary labour market

What is the Bulimic society to Young

Young- people gorge themselves on media images and expensive consumer lifestyles but are then forced by economic circumstances to vomit out their raised expectations

What does Young argue on late modern society (bulimic society)

Young- argues that our late modern society is media- saturated and constantly exposed to 3 things

What are these 3 things

•consumer choice

•advertising of consumer goods

•media-generated lifestyles

What can’t you ye economically excluded do

Those who are economically excluded cannot afford to participate in consumer choice

What is the ‘Toxic Mix’ to young

Young- 3 features of late modernity intensify feelings of relative deprivation

What is growing individualism

More individual freedom and self-centredness with less community spirit and collective responsibility

What is weakening of informal controls

Family community break up so less support and informal control on each other

What is growing economic equality and economic change

Global economy, higher wages for the most socially mobile and well-educated with less traditional manufacturing and unskilled labour roles with young working-class men hit hardest

What is Young’s contrast between cultural inclusion and economic exclusion

Young- contrast between cultural inclusion and economic exclusion- similar to Merton’s notion of anomie this is where society creates crime by setting cultural goals while denying people the opportunity to achieve them by legitimate means

What is ‘relative deprivation downwards’

Middle class, who have to be hard working to succeed in a competitive work environment, resent the stereotypical underclass as idle, irresponsible, living off underserved state handouts

What is the result of exclusion

The result of exclusion is that amount and types of crime are changing in late modern society as crime is found increasingly throughout the social structure, not just at the bottom

How is the reaction to crime changing

•Less public consensus on right and wrong, boundary between acceptable and unacceptable behaviour is blurred

•public more intolerant and leads to demands for harsher penalties and increased criminalisation of unacceptable behaviour

What is the second aetiological crisis to Young (1990s)

Young- since the 90s crime has fallen, this is a problem for Realist explanations, because it suggests that crime is no longer the major threat they had originally claimed

Rising ‘anti-social behaviour rate’

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What is ‘defining up deviance’ to Young

Young - high levels of public concern about anti-social behaviour, since the 90s governments have introduced for example ASBOs in 1998 and IPNAs in 2015

What is blurring the boundaries of crime

Incivilities becomes crime, breaching an ASBO is itself a crime, thus manufacturing more crime

What is subjective definition

Subjective definition is in the eye of the beholder (not definitive)

What is flexibility

Anti-social behaviour orders (ASBO) have been used against people wearing hoodies, making noise, the net can be widened to generate endless number of infringements