Marxist View of Crime

Introduction to the Marxist View

• Core Stance: Conflict structuralism. Marxists blame deviance and crime on the Capitalist system.

• Historical Materialism: Karl Marx’s theory that how the economy is organised (economic base) determines a society's norms and values (superstructure). This superstructure ultimately decides what is labelled as deviant or criminal.

• Why Capitalism Generates Crime: It creates a greedy, violent, and corrupt society. Crime is a direct result of the inequality and poverty generated by the economic system.

• Key Quote Concept: "Poverty is the mother of all crime" (Marcus Aurelius) is interpreted by Marxists to mean that poverty is the main causation of crime

The Two Strands of Marxist Criminology

Background: Karl Marx himself did not write extensively about deviance specifically. Later theorists expanded his work into two main branches:

1. Traditional Marxist Perspective: Also referred to as Radical Criminology.

2. Modern Neo-Marxist Approach: Also known as Critical Criminology or New Criminology.

Traditional Marxist Explanations (Willem Bonger)

• Key Theorist: Willem Bonger (Dutch sociologist, 1905).

• The Influence of Capitalism: Capitalism is driven by competition, selfishness, and greed, which heavily influences people's general attitude toward life.

• Crime as "Natural": Crime is viewed as a perfectly natural outcome of these capitalist values, as individuals are actively encouraged to look after themselves at the expense of others.

Potential Exam Questions to Practice

• 6 Marks: Outline three ways in which Capitalism is criminogenic.

• 10 Marks: Identify and briefly explain two ways in which the law is enforced selectively.

• 30 Marks: Assess the usefulness of Marxist theories for our understanding of crime.

Capitalism as Criminogenic

• The Big Picture: Capitalist societies are "riddled with crime from top to bottom".

• Ruling Class Crime: Members of the ruling class commit crime to maintain their position and compete with rivals.

• Working Class Crime: The poor are driven to crime by their desperate conditions.

• Definition: Capitalism is criminogenic (crime-causing) because it actively creates a climate conducive to crime.

William Chambliss – Three Ways the Ruling Class Uses Law

William Chambliss (1978) highlighted three core mechanisms:

1. The Creation of Laws: Laws are created by the state to represent ruling class interests. Any behavior challenging these interests is criminalised. Crucially, laws are not passed if they restrict ruling class power and control.

2. Selective Law Enforcement: Crimes of the poor are heavily highlighted, while crimes of the rich/powerful remain hidden.

3. Dominant Hegemony: The ruling class uses ideological power to ensure the wider population adopts values that justify their position.

Selective Law Enforcement & Scapegoating

• Targeting Young Working-Class Males: Police are more likely to arrest this group because:

  • They lack the negotiation skills to talk themselves out of trouble.

  • Police heavily patrol working-class "problem" areas.

  • The media focuses heavily on street crimes rather than corporate fraud or tax evasion.

  • They fit the societal stereotype of a typical criminal.

• Steven Box (1981): Argues selective enforcement acts as scapegoating. Blaming the working class for society's ills "blinds" people to the more devastating crimes of the rich (e.g., massive financial tax dodging vs. smaller benefit fraud).

Dominant Hegemony & Ideology

• Ideological State Apparatus: Louis Althusser (1970) argued the law acts as a tool of the ruling class by convincing society that the law is neutral and above individual interests.

• Socialisation: Agencies of social control (media, education, family) train individuals to be sympathetic toward the capitalist system.

• Media Distraction: By focusing on the crimes of the poor, the media divides the working class, encouraging workers to blame criminals within their midst rather than blaming capitalism itself.

Evaluation of Traditional Marxism

• Strength: Offers a highly useful explanation of the relationship between crime and capitalist society.

• Weaknesses & Limitations:

  • It is too deterministic and over-predicts the amount of crime; not all poor people commit crime.

  • It largely ignores the relationship between crime and non-class inequalities, such as ethnicity and gender.

  • Not all capitalist societies have high crime rates (e.g., Switzerland).

  • The criminal justice system does sometimes act against the interests of the ruling class (e.g., prosecutions for corporate crime do occur).

Neo-Marxism (Critical or New Criminology)

• Key Theorists: Ian Taylor, Paul Walton, and Jock Young (1973).

• The Approach: Combines traditional Marxist infrastructure ideas with other perspectives like labelling theory.

• Voluntaristic View: Unlike traditional Marxists, Neo-Marxists believe in free will. They see crime as a meaningful action and a conscious choice by the actor.

• Political Motive: Crime often has a political motive, such as deliberately striving to change society or redistributing wealth from the rich to the poor. Criminals are not passive puppets of capitalism.

Neo-Marxism – Crime as a Response to Capitalism

• Structural Inequalities: Capitalism inherently creates deep structural inequalities.

• Marginalisation: These inequalities cause powerless groups to feel increasingly marginalised and frustrated.

• A Rational Action: Criminal and deviant behaviour is viewed as a rational response to their lowly position—a way to hit back at capitalist society.

• Examples of "Hitting Back":

  • Summer riots of 2011.

  • Anti-capitalist protests (e.g., Extinction Rebellion / Just Stop Oil).

  • The Hatton Garden Robbery.

  • Stealing from the rich (e.g., Kim Kardashian).

Evaluation of Neo-Marxism

• Strength: Neo-Marxists have successfully shown how some criminal activity can be interpreted as a political protest.

• Criticism (Romanticism): Critics argue that Neo-Marxists romanticise working-class criminals. They portray them as 'Robin Hoods' who fight capitalism by redistributing wealth from the rich to the poor.

• The Reality: In reality, these criminals mostly prey on the poor themselves.

• Criticism (Scope): They only focus on a narrow range of crimes and fail to offer enough practical solutions to tackle crime.

Summary Conclusion of the Marxist/Neo-Marxist View

• Types of Crime Explained:

  • White-collar crime.

  • Corporate crime.

  • Political crime.

  • State crime.

  • Blue-collar crime.

• Proposed Solutions to Crime: Reduce inequality by rooting out, abolishing, and replacing Capitalism with Socialism.

• Overall Influence: It has been influential among Orthodox Socialists, but not popular with mainstream politics/the mainstream left.