Neo-Marxist Explanations - Ethnicity and Offending

What do Marxists tend to argue regarding Ethnicity and Crime?

ethnic minorities do not commit more crime than other ethnic groups - capitalism that makes it appear this way

Who are the two Neo-Marxist sociologists in explaining the link between Ethnicity and Crime?

• Gilory

• Hall et al

What does Gilroy’s anti-racist perspective propose?

idea of ‘black criminality’ is a myth

• recorded criminality is due to police stereotypes and racist labeling

How does Gilroy explain the reason for crime among Black British ethnic groups?

legacy of resistance against White dominance in former colonies like Jamaica

• disagrees with the notion that crime arises from relative deprivation and the pursuit of economic success

What did Gilroy suggest about the experience of Early Caribbean migrants and how this explains ethnicity and criminality?

Early Caribbean migrants to Britain faced discrimination and hostility

• tradition of anti-colonial struggle to develop cultures of resistance against white-dominated authorities

• e.g. rioting

What does Gilroy conclude about why black people commit crime?

most crime by Black ethnic groups are essentially political and part of the broader resistance to white rule

What did Hall et al’s examination of mugging find?

‘mugging’ panic in the 1970s - capitalism crisis characterised by industrial unrest, recession, unemployment, and political violence

• media highlighted surge in muggins - young Black men in London

This focus on a negatively perceived group diverted attention from the economic crisis, making young Black male scapegoats - moral panic & justified and increased police presence

What does Hall et al’s capitalism in crisis conclude?

• mugging problem was largely fabricated by the police and media

hegemony - powerful ruling groups justified their dominance by scapegoating Black youth, distracting from capitalism’s failures, and maintaining the system

How does Chapman criticise the Neo-Marxist approach to ethnicity and crime?

crisis of hegemony has waned - but conflict between police and minority ethnic groups persist

• credit crunch and banking crisis in late 1990s - heightened media focus on crime among newer immigrant groups

How is the Neo-Marxist approach to ethnicity and crime successful?

provides a social context for understanding crime - emphasising social change in a specific place and time

What does the Neo-Marxist approach successfully avoid when describing ethnicity and crime?

making sweeping generations

How can the Neo-Marxist approach to ethnicity and crime be questioned?

if crime is seen as a political act and a form of resistance - why does interracial crime exist?