Marxism

Created by

Lottie

Cards (8)

Marxists take on Crime & Deviance 
NOT functional for society
capitalist system forces people to commit crime
Criminogenic Capitalism 
crime is product of capitalism
capitalism encourage consumerism & greed promotes self-interest
crime is only way for W/C to access goods
Capitalist Ideology 
capitalism presented as a fact
socialised into private ownership:
consumerism
competition
individualism
proletariat fail to question if this is good for themselves
Althusser 1970 
Ideological state apparatus (ISA): controls masses through socialisation --> education, media, religion, family
Repressive state apparatus: people questioning ISA through formal social control --> police
Gordon 1973 
crime is rational response
there is little focus on white collar crime only street crime --> W/C issue
Capitalism creates competition of resources benefits U/C --> creates inequalities:
Bourgeoisie: get ahead of competition & maximise profits (corporate crime)
Proletariat: crime essential for survival of poverty due to alienation
Box 1983 
crime created by powerful eg. MURDER
bourgeoisie determine what is 'avoidable killing' & Bourgeoisie murder is toned down to negligence (unequal)
crime stats manipulated by powerful to criminalise powerless
crime becomes a problem --> increase policing: justifies control over powerless
diverts attention from bourgeoisie crimes
selective enforcement benefits bourgeoisie
Chambliss 1975 
Ethnographic study in Seattle FOUND:
ruling class used wealth as bribes
bribe to avoid punishment
criminal justice system not actively trying to catch them
EVALUATION 
Economic Determinism: suggests no free will --> overlooks other contributing factors (criminogenic capitalism) --> most people dont commit crime
Chambliss: some U/C still get prosecuted eg. Harvey Weinstein
Overemphasise capitalism involvement: Non-capitalist societies still have crime eg. USSR = high crime