Left and Right Realist explanations of crime and deviance

Question 1

What are the right wing characteristics?

Answer 1

• Focus on individual achievement
• Equality is not possible or desirable
• People get what they deserve- incentivise the talented
• State should not intervene
• Individuals make bad choices, poor socialisation, wrong norms
• Blame the criminal/deviant
• Tough penalties and strict control-
• Functionalist, new right, right realist

Question 2

What are the right realist explanations of crime?

Answer 2

• Biological inclination/the underclass
• Opportunity theory
• Changes to society
• Broken windows theory

Question 3

How do Wilson and Herrnstein explain crime?

Right

Answer 3

• There is a biological element to criminality
• Criminal traits are heightened if the individual lacks proper socialisation
• In the nuclear family- criminal traits are suppressed as right norms and values are taught
• In single-parent families- criminal traits are heightened due to inadequate socialisation
  (Links to Murray’s views on the underclass)

Question 4

How does Wilson explain crime?

Right

Answer 4

• Long term trends in crime can be accounted for by 3 primary factors:
  1) Shifts in the age structure of the population will increase/decrease the crime rate (young males- most likely to commit)
  2) Changes in costs/benefits of crime at different times, due to accessibility, the economy, job availability
  3) Broad social/cultural changes in society (influence norms and values- affect the extent to which ‘at risk’ individuals are tempted into crime)

Question 5

How do Wilson and Kelling explain crime?

Right

Answer 5

• Community will change its behaviour in the face of low-level disorder
• Broken windows theory- when people identify a building as derelict and uncared for, they will view it as acceptable to vandalise
• Zimbardo’s study- left an abandoned care in a middle class area (1) and a run-down area (2)- 2 was immediately vandalised, 2 was left alone, until he smashed one window- this encouraged the car to be destroyed

Question 6

What are the left wing characteristics?

Answer 6

Focus on power/inequality
- Bottom= victims of circumstances
- State should intervene to share out wealth
- Inequality leads to crime
- The system is to blame
- Law is not equally applied
- Marxist, interactionists, radical criminology, left realist

Question 7

What are the left realist causes of crime?

Answer 7

• Relative deprivation
• Mariginalisation
• Subculture

Question 8

How do Lea and Young explain relative deprivation?

Left

Answer 8

• Relative deprivation- feelings of deprivation that arises when an individual compares themselves to others, fuelled by the media
• Young- we live in a bulimic society where we are encouraged to worship status, money, wealth and success- those who face relative deprivation cannot do so
• Turn to illegeal means to achieve consumerist goals- i.e. theft, drug dealing

Question 9

How do Lea and Young explain marginalisation?

Left

Answer 9

• Marginalisation- those on the edges of society, who lack clearly defined goals, involvement and representation within society
• Hutton- 40:30:30 society- 40% employed, 30% insecure employment, 30% marginalised
• Young- economic exclusion leads to social exclusion, the breakdown of communities and families, and an increase in crime and deviance

Question 10

How do Lea and Young explain subculture?

Left

Answer 10

• Subculture- groups of individuals with shared norms and values
• Formed by individuals who cannot achieve society’s norms and values
• Occurs in response to relative deprivation and marginalisation
• Influenced by sucbultural theories- Merton’s strain theory- individuals face blocked opportunities, so turn to illegal means to achieve societal goals

Question 11

How do Matthews and Young explain crime?

Left

Answer 11

• The square of crime
• Focus on the relationship between: the offender, the victim, the public, the criminal justice system
• Police and public trust influence crime levels

Question 12

Right realism evaluation

Answer 12

• Too harsh- blames the individual for crime (Left realism)
• Ignores social inequality (Left realism)
• Ignores the role of social structures (Marxism)
• Plays down the causes of offending (instead focuses on failure in social control/punishment)- Young= deviance and control cannot be studied alone- parts of the same equation

Question 13

Left realism evaluation

Answer 13

• Too soft- lack of evidence of the offender’s motives (Right realism)
• Merely an extension of radical criminology
• Focuses on the working class (Marxists)
• Generalisation- not all deprived people turn to crime
• Limited gender explanation (Carlen)