American Crime Exam 2

Belief that modern era is peaceful

we forget how brutal life was before

we are prone to think modern life is very violent

truth= modern life is very peaceful compared to the past

• problem- most people have romantic views of the past

• hold fears of modernity (technology ex)

we have errors in judgment- high profile events cause people to overestimate the violence

Long Term Trends in Violence

2 views

1. has violence increased?- due to culture of modern world

2. has violence declined?- humans started as selfish and civilization made us peaceful

are we blank slates? (Pinker says no)

20th century was very violent (duels, wars, etc)

now= rise of human rights, decrease in death penalty, decline in territorial wars

Trends to explain retreat from violence- Societal Transition

hunter gatherer to agriculture society

reduction in raiding and territorial conflict

5000 years ago

Trends to explain retreat from violence- 1000-1500 years ago Europe

decline of feudal groups, organization of larger gov

centralized authorities, growth of kingdoms, org trade

Trends to explain retreat from violence- Humanitarian Revolution (17th century)

movements to abolish state sanctioned violence and slavery

reduction of superstitious killings

age of enlightenment, US constitution, abolition of dueling, religious persecution

Trends to explain retreat from violence- Peace Post WW2

mega powers no longer at war

deaths in combat decline a lot

Trends to explain retreat from violence- Armed State Combat

less common

country v country wars fewer in number

Trends to explain retreat from violence- Declaration of Human Rights

post WW2

stopped criminalizing homosexuality

embraced perspective of the other

more willing to cooperate

Human Nature and Pinker

Hobbes= humans self interested, driven for revenge

but nature is calmed by societal and individual restraints

Pinker= history is struggle between better angels (empathy, self control, moral senses) and inner demons (predation, dominance, revenge, our human nature)

we need lids on our inner demons (6 explanations)

Pinker’s Calming Processes- Leviathan

growth of state, has monopoly on use of violence

Consolidation of law, enforceable contracts (rely on law)

countries transformed from rural to central state

relies on soft power also (shame, embarrassment, informal processes)

state is effective in stopping revenge (relies on the law)

Pinker’s Calming Processes- Commerce

positive sum game, everyone could win

encourages cooperation

trade reduces incentive to attack (need each other and start to value other countries)

trade forces empathy and perspective taking

people more valuable alive than dead

Pinker’s Calming Processes- Feminization

growing respect for women in society

males more violent on multiple measures

Reduction in emphasis on honor and revenge

societies where women are empowered take fewer risks

cultural shift

Pinker’s Calming Processes- Cosmopolitan

“all humans are citizens in a single community”

being exposed to differences expands empathy

literacy. mass media drives this- we appreciate other countries

promotes perspective taking

mixing of ideas= endorsement of humanistic values

Opposite of this= militarism, nationalism

animal rights= cause of us to dev empathy

Pinker’s Calming Processes- Reason

Intensifying application of rationality

human nature have not changed but we now rely on reason and knowledge

Movement from tribalism and authoritarianism to humanism and logic

reason= institution that values compromise- democracy, negotiations, sanctions

rights revolution

law is product of reason

reason forces you to take a position and defend it

Reason- Why Aligns with Non Violence

1. reasoners care about their well being and prefer comfort over pain

2. reasoners in community of reasoners who share similar views, you appeal reason by invoking it

reason grows with higher IQ

Support for Pinker

we are like animals- we are naturally violent (evolutionary inherited)

the further we get away from our animal ancestors, the less violent we are (bc of culture, logic, and institutions)

Roths Critique of Pinker

what if patter is less smooth?

Roth= civilizing thesis does not hold up as history

• no clear long term decline

• Pinkers 6 forces can increase violence as well

• war and killings rise when state legitimacy collapses

key shift= not ‘are humans more civilized' but do people trust their gov and feel solidarity and comfort?

Medieval violence was not impulsive- calculated, in context of weak state, low gov legitmacy

Roth- Homicide Declines When… (nation building thesis)

1. gov is stable and justice is fair

2. fellow feeling and solidarity

3. officials are legit

4. people feel respected within social hierarchy

Collapse= immediate spike in violence (ex French Revolution and post cold war Europe)

Roth- Homicide Spikes When…

1. Political polarization

2. betrayal by elites

3. exclusion from power

Leviathan suppresses feuds but enables mass warfare, raises large armies, builds weapons of mass destruction

commerce not always pacifying (trade can intensify competition)

medical improvements are critical for declines

Messner and Rosenfeld Key Questions

why does the US have high crime compared to other developed nations?

why does crime persist despite punishment and social control?

US Crime Puzzle

high levels of violent crime

high incarceration rates

persistent fear of crime

US is very economically successful and politically stable

Milken: Junk Bond King Ex

1988, multiple felonies, fraud, schemes, violations

false data and records

2 years in prison

Archetype of Wall street fraud

became UCLA professor

shows deviance and conformity co-exists

Enron Ex

manipulated financial reports to maintain stock prices

shows how intense pressure for success can foster illegal behavior

embraced loss as part of game, must take risks

in debt, employees lost jobs, funds lost

motives for deviance came from same place as innovation

American Success (M and R Chp 1)

public holds mixed judgments on right and wrong- cooperate crime v street crime

illicit success springs from same cultural ethos as legit success

evil and good from same place

Deviance and conformity intertwined

violent crime shared ethos with WCC- anything goes, violence as instrument to goals

By Any Means Necessary (M and R Chp 2)

violent crime not a normal feature of all capitalist societies

American exceptionalism 3 ways: level of serious crime, form of serious crime, response to crime

not due to: innovations, mental illness, incarceration, gov, etc

Interdependence and distinctive cultural imagination is a clue

American Dream

sources of crime from same values we contribute to success

prized social ethos

• Commitment to material success, upward mobility, pursed by everyone, under open competition

• Expected you will rise in class position and earn more

Core Values of American Dream Ethos

1. glorification of individual competition (celebrate winning, get prizes, get respect)

2. achievement orientation (judge people by material accomplishments and income)

3. exaggerated emphasis on wealth as metric of success (success measured in economic terms)

4. universalism (everyone expected to pursue success thought competition)

all reasons and motivations for crime

Historical Dev of American Dream

popular during Great Depression

promise of opportunity, mobility, prosperity

became strongly linked to material success (owning home, car, etc)

rags to riches stories

for all social classes to embrace

Dark Side of American Dream

high crime levels especially violent crime

punitive punishment response

1. intense pressure to achieve success

2. weak emphasis on the legit means (only emphasis the goals)

3. success become more important that the rules

4. devaluation (means to get the goals)

places tensions on institutions

ex. baseball, 1994 world series canceled, players wanted more money, used steroids, brought in lots of fans and money, wanted to achieve success and had pressure to do so

Merton

modern America

leading explanation for societal differences in crime

inspired by Durkhiem

anomie is faced by some societies

we need to place lids on our desires (Durkheim)

Mertons Argument

crime results from strain between goals and legit means

if people cant achieve success legitimately, we innovate with crime

influences by Messner and Rosenfeld

pressure from society to engage in deviance

crime is a normal response to American society

crime is not a symptom of pathological society

Lessons from Merton

1. crime not result of social pathologies

2. strains between cultural goals and means

3. acutely felt in lower classes

4. crime is normal response

everyone socialized to accepted American Dream- problem bc lower classes do not have same access to resources, creates tension/strain

means unequally distributed

Chronic Anomie

goals stressed, means ignored

crime is an option, innovate

faced in the US

M and R added institutions

• American Dream ethos not only source of violence

Purpose of Social Institutions

building blocks of society

common goals, roles, orgs

we need stable institutions

guideposts through change

foster social stability, provide human capital

education, politics, family, religion, etc

institutions= regulate basic human conduct, provide for our needs, mobilize, socialize, etc

have non economic and economic purposes

Major Types of Institutions

1. economy= produces goods and services (earn, achieve, win, pursue)

2. family= socialization, care, regulation of reproduction, emotional

3. polity= mobilize power to attain collective goods, maintain public safety, provide resources

4. education= develop human potential, cultural standards, prepare for workforce, provide skills, train

all interdependent

need to coordinate

Institutional Coordination Necessary for…

social order/ less crime

regulation of human impulse

societal reproduction

crime control

Capitalist Logic and American Dream

American Dream organized around capitalism

goals of monetary success and innovation are overwhelming

highly competitive, profit driven, not civic minded

Overwhelms intuitions

How Economy Dominates

1. devaluation

2. Accommodation

3. Penetration

Devaluation

non economic institutions are devalued

family, caring, and social good jobs pay little

Economy dominates everything

political policy promotes economic prosperity only

Institutions have to adapt, purpose changes

non economic roles lose prestige

Accommodation

non economic institutions accommodate rules of economy

work over family time

ex. little time off for new mothers

education meets occupation demand

higher education responds to business needs

political campaigns beg for money and serve special interests

Penetration

logic of economy infects non economic institutions

education a commodity

corporate advertising

gov as a business

family most resistant but still affected

most powerful and can study

meanings spread

Mr. Hoid- Japan Ex

business man, stole money

illegal means

shows differences in other countries/ other reactions

culture fuels crime

Institutional Anomie Summary

Dominica of economy undermines social control

weakens

Americans attached to economy but its the least regulating/ restricting

removes cap on self interest (no emphasis on means)

Consequences for Crime

socialization disintegrates

loss of external social controls, secondary groups (non family), neighborhood controls

social welfare system weakens

unrestrained human appetities

2 Crime Producing Effects of American Dream

direct= cultural emphasis, provides motivations for people to commit crimes, pressure

indirect= erosion of social institutions, weakened social controls, socialization capacity

Solution/ Policy for Institutional Anomie

reformulate anomie culture/ pressures

not reform CJ system, not increase access to legit opps

people will still want more

need to fix the culture pressures

Shadow Economy/ Underworld

Earrings that are not reported to the gov

not counted in official stats

untaxed, unregulated, illegal

ex. using fake money

law is out of reach, cant call cops

$2.5 trillion earned off the books

sale/exchange of illegal goods (sex, drugs, guns)

ex. home repair, babysitting, drug dealing, selling goods informally/ Craigslist

illegal activity= drugs, prostitution, loan sharking

legal but hidden= cash word, side jobs

Why of Underground?

product is illegal but profitable (ex. cocaine)

taxes on earnings and sales too high

license, regulations too cumber-stone (reduces costs)

Convenience

Illicit Markets (podcast)

cash dependent, hard to quantify volume

1 in 5 purchases in shadow economy, 20% of all consumption

scale of shadow trades larger for wealthy people

cash, drugs, guns always have value

high demand things often sold

mix of illegal and legal economies

need a fence- move in between legal and illegal activity

• fences are declining which may explain why property crime is declining

75% of conflicts resolved in 24 hours

mostly peaceful (reliant on each other for profit)

informal 3rd parties important when people need to resolve conflicts

norms reduce violence

Are Earnings in Shadow Economy Feature of Poverty?

no, as income increased, the % of trade grows relative to consumption

insider trading

traders make a strategic bet- that the gov isnt watching and they wont get caught

operates outside protection of formal law- key

Partisans

closer to one actor than another during a dispute

problem bc breeds escalation

ex. drug markets causes violence

Costs of Shadow Economy

health hazards,

Violence: robbery, extortion, murder

unfair competition- legal competes with illegal (ex. taxi cab, gypsy cabs)

lost tax revenue

Prohibition as Case Study (shadow economy)

ban on alcohol, 1920

moved something very popular into the shadows

bootlegging became popular- make alcohol and sell it illegally

alcohol market monopolized by organized crime (mafia)

high demand item

rise in homicide and robbery

violence used

many turned to psychoactive drugs (use widespread) (market underground)

Does Prohibition Reduce Violent Crime?

Prohibition shifts supply curve, no influence on demand

profits rise (ex. guns)

Prohibition meant to reduce violent crime among drug users

can generate violence

Drug Markets Create Demand For…

money laundering services

corrupt services (cops, politicians, banks)

Private protection= enforce debts, control territory, eliminate competition (important)