Left and Right Realism

Question 1

How did Right Realism develop?

Answer 1

Realism arose from limitations of conflict theories and critical criminology -e.g. being too utopian and idealistic

Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan were elected in the UK and US- this lead to a shift in political ideology

Offenders went from being seen as vulnerable people (critical criminology), to be seen as responsible for their actions and need to be punished

Question 2

What is a fundamental belief of both let and right realism?

Answer 2

There is the need for criminologists to produce research that helps to develop realistic policy that will feed into practices that counter the ‘crime problem’

Question 3

who and what theories are associated with right realism?

Answer 3

Primarily with James Wilson ( Rational Choice Theory) and Charles Murray (the underclass)

Question 4

Explain Wilson’s rational choice theory.

Answer 4

‘if crime pays more people will do it, if it pays less, less people will do it’ (1975: 117).

people are rational beings -weigh up the benefits and costs of crime before they commit it

benefits don’t have to be financial, can be your position in society, opinion of others etc can increase or decrease the value of crime

Question 5

What policies reflect right realism?

Answer 5

Three strikes rule in America

Harsher punishments (long sentences)

Zero Tolerance policies

Question 6

What is Wilsons 5 critiques of critical criminology?

Answer 6

• Crime comes from individuals, not social causes.
• Criminology relied on ideology, not evidence.
• Street crime is more harmful than white-collar crime.
• Crime is a moral issue, not just a social one.
• Some people are innately criminal.

Question 7

Describe Murray’s ideas of the underclass.

Answer 7

• ‘Underclass’: Groups defined by bad behaviour, not just poverty.
• Crime linked to welfare dependency and fecklessness.
• Solution: Retreat of state and focus on self-reliance.
• Morally poor people, criminal by nature.

Question 8

What were Murray’s solutions to stop crime?

Answer 8

Retreat of the State: Murray argued that the government should reduce welfare programs

Promote Self-Reliance: Murray emphasized the importance of personal responsibility, family stability, and community engagement to reduce crime.

Family and Social Structure: Murray advocated for the traditional family structure (two-parent households) as a means of preventing crime

Question 9

Critiques of right realism?

Answer 9

• Their policies displace crime
• Surveillance reduces privacy and freedom.
• Focus on street crime, ignoring domestic violence and corporate crime.
• Blames victims for crime.
• Assumes some people are born wicked.
• Criminalises the working class.
• Assumes crime is always a rational choice, ignoring impulsive crimes

Question 10

How did left realism develop?

Answer 10

• Believed that critical criminologists didn’t do enough to prevent crime
• Left realists rejected what they saw as punitive and exclusionary policies that were endorsed by right realists.- they are against harsh punishments
• Left realist criminology focuses on the community as well as the state, the victim as well as the offender.

Question 11

what theories are associated with left realism?

Answer 11

Jock Young (the square of crime), relative deprivation

Question 12

What did the square of crime suggest?

Answer 12

• Recognises a need to focus on the relationship between the victim and offender.
• In order to study and understand crime, it needs to be broken down into four component parts. -does not accept that choice and freewill are the sole factors in terms of causation of crime.
• The square of crime represents the interconnected elements that constitute crime.

Question 13

Explain the theory of relative deprivation.

Answer 13

• Crime is caused by a sense of injustice from comparing oneself to others, not by absolute poverty.
• Leads to feelings of exclusion and resentment due to social inequality.

Powerful because:
1. Applies across the social structure.
2. Explains all types of crime, not just economic.
3. Doesn’t rely on an absolute poverty standard.

Question 14

what do left realist suggest to stop crime?

Answer 14

• ‘multi- agency’ responses.- different teams that look at it holistically to see what the best response is
• make long- term changes in the way society operates in terms of equality and justice

Question 15

Left Realism Critiques

Answer 15

• Neglects offenders.
• Relative deprivation doesn’t explain all crimes.
• Focuses too much on street crime.
• Too deterministic — not all deprived people offend.
• Overlooks female offenders.