Neo Marxism

Question 1

What do neo Marxists and Marxists agree on?

Answer 1

• accept the state makers and enforces laws in the interests of capitalism
• laws are made to criminalise working class

Question 2

How do Marxists and neo Marxists differ?

Answer 2

Neo Marxists:

• Marxists are too deterministic
• many p’s facing the same circumstances don’t commit crime
• choosing crime is voluntary

Question 3

What is neo Marxists key view point?

Answer 3

• voluntaristic view

- w/c crimes are meaningful and symbolic political acts of resistance to bourgeoise

Question 4

What is the key topic neo Marxists look at?

Answer 4

• the new criminology
• Taylor, Young and Walton (1973)
• influenced by Marxists and interpretivists

Question 5

What did Taylor and Walton and Young argue we needed to like at to understand crime?

Answer 5

Wider capitalist society that is helping generate the circumstances of crime and the police response to it

Question 6

What do we need to look at in terms of behaviour?

Answer 6

Behaviour of:

• victims
• offenders
• media
• criminal justice system
• how they interact to influence how situation develops

Question 7

What did the new criminology develop?

Answer 7

• the fully social theory of deviance
• blends labelling theory and Marxism
• 6 dimensions

Question 8

What are the 6 dimensions of the fully social theory of deviance?

Answer 8

1. The wider origins of the deviant act
2. The immediate origins of the deviant act
3. The act itself
4. The immediate origins of social reaction
5. The wider origins of social reaction
6. The effects of labelling

Question 9

What is the wider origins of the deviant act?

Answer 9

• way in which wealth and power are distributed in society
• macro
• Marxism

Question 10

What is the inaccurate origins of the deviant act?

Answer 10

• context in which p decided to commit crime
• micro
• interactionism

Question 11

What is the act itself?

Answer 11

• the meaning the p attached to the act
• Micro
• interactionism

Question 12

What is the immediate origins of the social reaction?

Answer 12

• how society reacts to the deviant app
• micro
• interactionism

Question 13

What is the wider origins of the social reaction?

Answer 13

• the issue of who has the power to define actions as deviant and to label others
• macro
• Marxism

Question 14

What is the effects of labelling?

Answer 14

• impact of the label on p
• micro
• interactionism

Question 15

What evidence can you apply to neo Marxism?

Answer 15

• London’s riots over shooting of Mark Duggan

- 2011

Question 16

What are the wider origins of the London riots?

Answer 16

• 80% of children in Tottenham lived in poverty

Rioters were asked to rank factors from most top least important as a cause of riots:

1. Poverty
2. Policing
3. Government policy
4. Unemployment
5. Shooting of Mark Duggan

Question 17

What was the immediate origins of the London riots?

Answer 17

• Mark was shot as he was a suspected drug dealer

Why are p’s upset over shooting:

• police targeting
• institutional racism
• he wasn’t armed so wasn’t a threat

How did his family react:
- peaceful protest outside station

Question 18

What was the act itself, the London riots?

Answer 18

• aggressive protests

- young took it into their own hands

Question 19

What was the immediate origins of social reaction of the riots?

Answer 19

BBC London’s Paraic O’Brien:
“What struck me was the small number of police officers that were actually seen to be on Brixton high street dealing with this”

• Brixton was a hot spot for looting and robbing

Used to make riots:

• water cannons
• police in riot gear
• curfews
• the army

Question 20

What are the wider origins of the social reaction to the riots?

Answer 20

• news and police reports are contradicting
• rioters said least contributing factors was gangs

BBC blamed it on youth and gangs:

• met police:
• “this is not groups of p’s acting on behalf of their community, they’re part of organised gangs who fancy a new pair of trainers”

Question 21

What are the effects of labelling on the riots?

Answer 21

• other parts of the country started to riot against poverty and status frustration
• looting
• 100+ arrests
• police vehicles damaged
• 35 police injured
• 3 officers hit by vehicle

Question 22

What is a strength of new criminology?

Answer 22

• examines social structure and individual agencies at the same time
• explores economic, political and social factors
• holistic approach
• more informed
• doesn’t ignore micro or macro

Question 23

What are the weaknesses with new criminology?

Answer 23

• pay little attention to victims
• feminists
• no changes

Question 24

How does new criminology not pay attention to victims?

Answer 24

• romantic view of criminal
• sees many as politically motivated protesters
• can’t be used for interclass crime between w/c e.g theft
• committed utilitarian crimes for selfish reasons

Question 25

How do feminists criticise the new criminology?

Answer 25

- gender blind theory - focuses on male criminality - assume theory can be applied to women

Question 26

How has new criminology not made any changes?

Answer 26

- produced no realistic or useful policies to tackle crime or protect victim - no positive policies - no changes to policies - questions what the point of the theory is

Question 27

What policy did David Cameron introduce after the riots?

Answer 27

The big society

Question 28

What is wrong with the big family policy?

Answer 28

- anti welfare dependency - didn’t word - aimed to teach families how to raise their kids - targeted lone parents and w/c