Class, Power and Crime

Question 1

Labelling theorist crime is a social construct

Answer 1

no act is inherently criminal or deviant itself. It’s whether society sees it as un fit. Homosexuality and gay marriage used to be illegal and largely scrutinised by the public. Now it is legal.

Question 2

Becker Crime is a social construct

Answer 2

‘Social groups create deviance by creating the rules whose [breaking]constitutes as deviance’

Question 3

Becker moral enterpenures

Answer 3

Ppl who lead moral ‘crusade’ to changre the law. Becker says there are 2 effects:
* creation of a new outsider group
* creation or expansion of a social agency

Question 4

Platt ‘juvinile deliquency’

Answer 4

‘Juvinile delinquency’ was created by U/C victorian moral entrepenures aimed at protecting yuoung ppl at risk

Question 5

Becker + social control agencies
Example

Answer 5

US FB of Narcotics - marjiuana tax act 1937 which illigelised it but in some states it is now still legal

Question 6

Marxism, class and crime

Answer 6

• law is enforced disproprtionatly qagainst WC however criticise labelling theory for failing to examine wider structure of capitalism

Question 7

Criminogenic capitalism

Answer 7

criminogenic - causes crime
- poverty crime isw the only way the WC can survive
- consumerism pressure of keeping up with the jonses
- Alienation lack of control over their lives lead to frustationa and agression
- increase in domestic violence ‘women are the taker of shit’

Question 8

Chambliss state of law making

Answer 8

laws to protect private property are the cornersone of the capitalist economy
- english lawa of englkish african colognies
brits include tax payable by cash

Question 9

Ideological funcs of crime and law

Answer 9

laws occasionally appear for the benifit of WC rather than capitalism - workplace health and saftey laws

Question 10

Eval of marxism

Answer 10

• ignores the non- class inequalites
• too deterministic + over predicts the amount of crime
• not all capitalist societies have high crime rate

Question 11

Gordon

Answer 11

Crime is rational response to the capitalist system + found in all classes

Question 12

Capitalism

Answer 12

‘Dog eat dog world’
Win at all cost metality pursue profits

Question 13

New criminology- Taylor et al

Answer 13

agrees with marxist
- capitalist society is based on the exploitation and class conflict + characterised by extreame inequalioties of wealth and power
- state makes + enforces laws on behalf of capitalism
- capitalism should be replaced by classless society

Question 14

Anti-determanism - taylor et al

Answer 14

marxism is too deterministic
Taylor et al take a Voluntaristic(we have free will) view - see crime as meaningful action

Question 15

Fully social theory of devience
taylor et al- six aspects

Answer 15

• wider origins of devient acts
• immediate origins of devient act
• the act - rebelling against capitalism
• immedidte origins of social reaction
• wider origins
• the effects of labelling on the devients future