Marxism (Class and Crime) (brief)

Question 1

Marxists believe the structure of capitalist society explains crime.
What are the three questions which shape the Marxist theory?

Answer 1

• who makes the law and who benefits?
• who breaks the law and who gets caught?
• why break the law and how is it enforced?

Question 2

What relationship do the state and lawmaking have?

Answer 2

• the state make the laws for the benefit of the RC and therefore reflect their interests
• laws are part of the superstructure and therefore are an instrument of the RC to maintain power and control

Question 3

What does Mannheim note?

Answer 3

• the history of legislation in capitalist countries shows the excessive prominence given by the law to the protection of property

Question 4

What does Chambliss claim about industrialisation?

Answer 4

• there was a rise in importance of trade and commerce -

- this was reflected in the increasing number of laws designed to protect the interests of the emerging capitalist class

Question 5

What does Snider reveal about the government?

Answer 5

• they are often reluctant to pass laws that regulate capitalist corporations and threaten their profitability
• after offering large sums of money to attract inward investment by corporations, governments are unwilling to alienate them

Question 6

What is an example of the ideological function that lawmaking provides for capitalists?

Answer 6

• laws are occasionally passed that seem to benefit the wc, eg. health and safety laws
• however, they still benefit capitalism
• keeps workers fit and healthy
• provides a ‘caring face’ of capitalism
• creates a false consciousness
• can also avoid being sued if the laws are in place

Question 7

Which views do Marxists expand upon, develop, and embed in a more structural context?

Answer 7

• Interactionist

Question 8

How is the fiction that the law operates for the benefit of society as a whole and the myth that the extent of RC crime is small perpetuated?

Answer 8

• powerless groups ie. wc and ethnic minorities are criminalised
• crimes of the powerful are ignored
• occasional prosecution of their crimes provides this fiction

Question 9

How does Gordon argue that crime is not confined to the working class?

Answer 9

• crime is a rational response to the capitalist system
• resultantly is found in all social classes
• official statistics make it appear as a wc problem

Question 10

How does the capitalist system encourage capitalists to commit crime?

Answer 10

• it is a system of ruthless competition

- profit motive encourages a mentality of greed and self-interest

Question 11

Marxists believe capitalism is criminogenic. What kind of explanation does Bonger provide?

Answer 11

• an explanation for criminal motivation which is firmly rooted in the economics and culture of capitalism
• believes the economic infrastructure of capitalism has a major influence on behaviour, social relationships, beliefs and values which contribute to criminal behaviour

Question 12

What three aspects of the capitalist economic infrastructure does Bonger emphasise that majorly influence behaviour, values etc. that contribute to criminal behaviour?

Answer 12

• the capitalist mode of production emphasises maximising profits and accumulating wealth
• behaviour is motivated by economic self-interest rather than public duty
• personal gain rather than collective well-being is encouraged

Question 13

How does Bonger conclude that the culture of capitalism encourages individuals to break the law?

Answer 13

• crime is a perfectly normal outcome of capitalist values because they are the same values that encourage criminal behaviour

Question 14

How does Chambliss reflect on and develop Bonger’s ideas?

Answer 14

• argues that the culture and economics of capitalism motivates crime on all levels of society
• members of each class use whatever means and opportunity they have to commit crime ie. mugger as opposed to lawyer

Question 15

Contrasting to functionalists, what do Marxists argue about law enforcement?

Answer 15

• it is enforced selectively in a systematically class biased fashion

Question 16

Gordon believes law enforcement serves a number of important functions.
A) How do they perpetuate the prevalent ideology that individuals rather than society are to blame for social problems?

Answer 16

• blame and condemnation is directed at the individual rather than the institution of capitalism

Question 17

Gordon believes law enforcement serves a number of important functions.
B) How does crime divert attention from the exploitative nature of capitalism?

Answer 17

• focuses on the evil and frightening nature of criminal individuals
• conceals the nature of capitalism which makes people criminals

Question 18

Gordon believes law enforcement serves a number of important functions.
C) How does capitalism neutralise opposition to the system?

Answer 18

• through the targeting and imprisonment of selected members of the subject class
• working class areas and black communities house the potentially most potentially revolutionary sections of the population

Question 19

Gordon believes law enforcement serves a number of important functions.
D) How does the selective application of the law benefit capitalism?

Answer 19

• reinforces the idea that crime is a largely working-class phenomenon
• divides and fragments the wc - there is a tendency to see their enemies as criminals within their own class and not the ruling class

Question 20

Gordon believes law enforcement serves a number of important functions.
D) How does the selective application of the law provide a safety valve?

Answer 20

• frustration and hostility is directed towards criminals - releasing aggression which might otherwise be directed towards the RC

Question 21

Does the Marxist theory explain non-utilitarian crime? However, how could some crime that seems non-utilitarian still be produced by the culture of capitalism/ be related to economic control?

Answer 21

• no - not all crime is a response to capitalism (ie. serial killers)
• however, crimes such as rape/ domestic abuse may relate to controlling money and as a product of the jealousy/ power they believe capitalism breeds

Question 22

How can some laws actually reflect wc interests?

Answer 22

• pressure groups/ campaigners may have wc interests at heart

Question 23

How could the theory be considered too economically deterministic?

Answer 23

• not everyone commits utilitarian crime and we all live in the same capitalist society
• not everyone is motivated by wealth

Question 24

Does the safety valve always work?

Answer 24

• no, there is evidence of aggression towards the RC

Question 25

How could the false consciousness be challenged?

Answer 25

• exaggerate the extent to which people are deluded about the law - ie. protests and riots

Question 26

Although class inequalities are important to consider, what inequalities do they ignore?

Answer 26

• racial inequalities

- gender inequalities

Question 27

How could capitalist actions sometimes be beneficial for us too?

Answer 27

• ie. production of gadgets to produce profit also benefit us

Question 28

How could the CJS be said to act against the interests of the RC sometimes?

Answer 28

• political scandal of a few years ago

Question 29

Do all capitalist societies have high crime rates?

Answer 29

• Japan and Switzerland have much less crime than the US