Marxism

• Capitalism is criminogenic-

  -Gordon- 'dog eat dog society' in which individuals are encouraged to look out for their own interests

  -there's an immense competitive pressure to make more money as it is the only way to ensure survival.

  -Breaking the law may seem insignificant compared to the pressure to succeed.
• Capitalism encourages us to want things we don't need-

  -Companies such as, McDonalds spend billion of dollars on advertising that in no way resembles the reality of their products, presenting an unattainable goal.

  -this can breed feelings of failure, leading to status frustration, leading to crime.

  -this will not be eradicated until capitalism disappears
• Capitalism created inequality and poverty-

  -bauman- points out that super wealthy segregate themselves away from others

  -Chambliss- economic crime represents responses to the competitiveness and inequalities of life in capitalist societies. so crime is viewed as a normal outcome of these values.
• What's the consequence of people having unequal access to law?

  -having money to hire a good lawyer can determine whether you are guilty or not, length of sentence, and type of prison you go to.

  -therefore punishment depends on the social class of the perpetrator

  -resulting in poorer criminals receiving harsher punishments than rich criminals
• All classes commit crime but white collar crime are costlier-

  -Crime isn't exclusive to W/C

  -the crimes of the capitalist class such as economic crimes often have more significant social and financial impacts than street crimes
• Selective law enforcement maintains ideological control-

  -The CJS focuses on policing and punishing marginalised groups while often overlooking crimes committed by the elite

  -this selective enforcement serves ideological functions by reinforcing the power dynamics, preventing challenges to existing social order
• Evaluation-

  -highlights the economic cost of white collar crime being much greater than street crime

  -crime still exists in non capitalist societies- so doesn't explain all crimes

  -realists - argue that it is unrealistic to criticise capitalism, instead we should focus on how we can reduce crime within the present system

  -Marxists stand in for the powerless W/C
• Selective prosecution of W/C benefits capitalism in 4 ways (Gordon)

  1. Punishments ignore the failings of the system that lead to more crime e.g. poverty
  2. imprisonment of lower class neutralises opposition to capitalism

  3. police, courts and media attention is diverted from the elite’s greed- W/C act as scape goats.

  4. the imprisonment of many members of the underclass also sweep the ‘worst jetsam of capitalist society’ out of sight so we cannot see them
• Neo-Marxism-

  -Acknowledge the existence of deviant subcultures, but unlike consensus approaches, they see subcultures as a resistance to capitalism.

  -Cohen-research on skinhead culture saw a reassertion of W/C culture from the 1980’s as a reaction to the capitalist system that robbed them of an identity