Classical Marxism

• What do Marxists claim about the cause of crime?

  Crime is structurally caused.
• Why do Marxists reject official statistics on crime?

  They see them as a social construction that underestimates crime, especially middle-class crime.
• How is crime and deviance connected to power and social control according to Marxists?

  Crime and deviance are strongly connected to the concept of power and social control.
• What type of research do Marxists tend to favor?

  Qualitative secondary case studies.
• What is the Marxist view on the relationship between capitalism and crime?

  • Crime is inevitable in capitalism.
  • Capitalism is criminogenic, causing crime to occur.
• What does Chambliss argue about capitalism and crime?

  Capitalism produces economic inequalities and capitalist values that cause crime.
• What economic inequalities does Chambliss argue capitalism creates?

  It creates inequalities where the working class is exploited by the ruling class.
• How does poverty and unemployment relate to working-class crime?

  Poverty and unemployment lead to utilitarian/money-making crimes as a means of survival.
• What consumer behavior might lead to crime according to Marxists?

  Working-class individuals may commit crimes to obtain consumer goods encouraged by capitalist advertising.
• What type of crime can result from alienation and frustration in the working class?

  Non-utilitarian crimes such as violence and vandalism.
• Is crime confined to the working class according to Marxists?

  No, crime is not confined to the working class; capitalism creates competition among capitalists.
• What capitalist values does Chambliss argue create pressures to commit crime?

  Profit, wealth creation, competition, and self-interest.
• What type of crime are the powerful drawn to according to Marxists?

  White-collar crime.
• What is an example of white-collar crime mentioned in the study material?

  The Bhopal Gas disaster.
• What is tax avoidance and how is it viewed by Marxists?

  Tax avoidance breaks moral codes of society but is not necessarily illegal.
• How do Marxists view the law in relation to the working class?

  They agree with labelling theorists that the law is disproportionately against the working class.
• What do classical Marxists like Pearce argue about law creation?

  Most laws are created by the state to protect the interests of the powerful ruling class.
• What example is given of laws that undermine trade union power?

  Employment and trade union laws implemented by Mrs. Thatcher in the 1980s.
• How do laws that appear to benefit the working class function ideologically?

  They create the belief that the law operates equally, masking its true nature.
• How do classical Marxists differ from Functionalists regarding the law?

  Classical Marxists see the law as serving the interests of the powerful, while Functionalists see it as reflecting societal values.
• What does Pearce suggest about the extent and distribution of crime?

  It is socially constructed, with selective enforcement favoring powerful groups.
• What evidence is provided regarding the prosecution of tax fraud versus benefit fraud?

  The cost of tax fraud is 4 times that of benefit fraud, yet there are 56 times more prosecutions for benefit fraud.
• What ideological function does selective law enforcement serve?

  It creates the belief that crime is primarily a working-class problem, diverting attention from powerful groups' crimes.
• What empirical support is provided by Bennett (1979) regarding law enforcement?

  Bennett found that middle-class offenders were more likely to be cautioned than working-class offenders for the same offence.
• What did Sampson (1986) discover about police patrols?

  Police tend to concentrate their patrols in poorer localities due to the belief that more crime occurs there.
• How does selective law enforcement affect working-class solidarity?

  It creates the belief that working-class criminals are the enemy, diverting attention from the ruling class's exploitation.
• What role do agencies of social control play in society according to Marxists?

  They transmit the ideologies of the powerful ruling class through socialization.
• What is false class-consciousness?

  It prevents revolutionary thoughts and maintains the capitalist social order.
• How does the criminal justice system contribute to the maintenance of capitalism?

  It creates the illusion that crime is largely a working-class problem, dividing the working class.
• What does Snider (1993) argue about the capitalist state?


  It creates the illusion that laws are made in the interests of the working class.
• What example is given regarding the enforcement of corporate homicide laws?

  Only one successful prosecution occurred in the first 8 years after the law was passed, despite many deaths caused by negligence.
• How is crime and deviance controlled according to Marxists?

  Through negative sanctions and punishments, with selective enforcement favoring the powerful.
• What values do schools instill according to Marxist correspondence theory?

  Values such as obedience, punctuality, and acceptance of hierarchy.
• How does religion function as described by Marxists?

  It acts as an 'opium of the people,' providing an escape from alienating work and reducing the chance of revolution.