1.2 - Marxist and Critical Criminologies

• What is the traditional marxist approach towards crime?

  • Society is criminogenic - means that crime is in built and natural as a result of the capitalist society which emphasises greed and self interest. Poverty means that some struggle to survive in the society so resort to stealing and violence to show their frustration of the social exclusion
  • Poverty means that some struggle to survive in the society so resort to stealing and violence to show their frustration of the social exclusion
  • Gordon - surprised wc do not commit even more crime in this society
• What is the traditional marxist approach to crime?

  • Selective law creation - Box argues that what is defined as a serious crime is ideologically constructed
  • Snider believes there is an illusion within society that law creation is democratic because criminal laws operate primarily to protect the property and interests of the ruling class
  • Argues government are reluctant to pass laws that threaten the ruling class
• What is the traditional marxist approach towards crime?

  • Selective law enforcement - crime is mainly a w/c phenomenon due to the selective enforcement of the law. Chambliss suggests that crime control focuses on the w/c who are more likely to be prosecuted and those from higher classes are likely to be treated leniently.
  • Selective law enforcement gives the impression that most crime is committed by the w/c which diverts their attention away from the exploitation
• What is the neo-marxist theory towards crime?

  • Gilroy argues that w/c crimes are symbolic acts of political resistance to the ruling class.
  • Seen as 'robin hood' figures who fight for action against inequalities
• What is the new criminology as proposed by Taylor et al?

  1. Wider social origins of deviant act
  2. Immediate origins of deviant act
  3. Actual deviant act
  4. Immediate origins of societal reactions
  5. Wider origins of societal reactions
  6. Outcomes of deviant act
• Evaluation of traditional marxist/neo marxist?

  1. Over emphasise property crime and limit crime such as rape, abuse and violence
  2. Over emphasise class inequality and ignore gender and ethnicity
  3. Feminists regard crime as malestream - cannot be applied to women
  4. TM theory is too deterministic - ignores free will
  5. Pay little attention to the victims of crime