Marxism and new right Flashcards
(16 cards)
what does the traditional marxist view
they argue that capitalism is ciminogenic -capitalist values are a breeding ground for crime. capitalism generates feelings of greed and self interest as people want more and more - all social classes commit utilitarian crimes (for money) to achieve goals of capitalism
what are the 4 key arguments
consumerism and greed, laws benefit the ruling class, selective policing and class bias in the criminal justice system
what is consumerism and greed
from a young age we are socialised to value consumerism which encourages children to think this is normal and desireable. the T.V gives children false needs and use ‘pester power’ to get them. among the working class there is a ‘culture of envy’ -they want consumer goods like the higher classes but cannot afford them leading to crime to get things they think they should have
what are laws that benefit the ruling class
laws are created and enforced by the ruling class to protect their interests - laws on private property as ruling class own all of it. laws also serve to keep the working class in a stat of false consiousness - prevents them from challenging their position in society
what is the selective policing
police spend time targeting and arresting working class offenders - they fit the police stereotype of a criminal. Marxists argue that this is deliberate due to ruling class wanting the police to focus on working class offenders as it shifts the public attention away from them because the ruling class are the real criminals commiting the most harmful crimes such as corporate crimes (tax evasions)
what is class bias in the criminal justice system
the police tend do be more leniant of middle class offenders as they are more likely to be given lighter sentence or let off with a warning - they dont fit in with the police stereotype
what is white collar crime
middle class crime which often takes place in secret so it less likely to be detected and prosecuted
how does Sunderland define white collar crime
a crime commited by a person of respectability and high social status in their course of occupation
what is occupational crime
crime commited by employees for their own personal gain whcih is often crime against the organisation they work for (stealing from the company or their customers)
what is corperate crime
crime comnmited by employees for their organisation in persuit of its goals
what are the reasons for low prosecution rates of white collar crimes
they are hard to detect, dealt with internally, lack of awareness and no individual victims to report the crime committed
What is neomarxism
they argue that crime is a result of capitalism and that inequalities in wealth and power leads to crime and deviance . They believe that the working class are not forced into crime due to capitalism, they argue that people have free will and choose to commit crime
what does Hall et al believe
he looked at the muggings from society as a whole right down to street level.
What happened in the 1970s in the uk
they faced an economic and political crisis, leaving many unemployed and homeless. The state looked for a scapegoat (someone to blame for society’s problems)
What did the media portray
they looked at the moral panic and believed the black mugger became a folk devil and the public demanded a police crackdown on black crime
what did the moral panic create
it helped the state to reassert hegemony - the public were so worried about black crime which distracted them from the fact capitalism caused the economic and political crisis
