folk devils and moral panics

• moral panic 


  process of arousing social concern over an issue - usually by moral entrepreneurs
• moral entrepreneura


  person, group or organisation with the power to create rules and impose their morals, views and attitudes onto others

  • eg. politicians, teachers, parents, religious leaders
• folk devils

  oversimplification, ill informed generalisations of particular people who moral entrepreneurs wish to demonise

  • eg. mods and rockers, lone parent families, immigrants, football hooligans
• by labelling and creating folk devils, moral entrepreneurs can generate moral panic through societies
• what does a moral panic involve

  muncie

  • simplification of an insubordinate minority
  • simplification of cause
  • stigmatisation of those involved (labelling)
  • generation of trepidation amongst the public
  • a ‘stamp down’ on certain groups
• hegemony - hall


  the process in which the r/c can coerce a subordinate class to conform to its interests but to assert social authority over insubordinate classes
• hegemony - hall


  fragments the w/c and turns them on one another

  • justifies the use of repressive control
• hegemony - hall


  justifies inequalities in society and reasserts power of those higher up in society
• deviance amplification spiral - jack young


  hmmm

  1. police arrest marijuana smokers for minor offences
  2. media sensationsalise these stories = moral panic generated
  3. in response to these stories, police crack down harder on folk devils
  4. drug users pushed underground - raises suspicion and pushes drug prices up - police crack down harder (more media)
  5. drug users start resisting arrest, turn to news and have organised themselves better
  6. high risk of being with drugs = increased prices so users turn to theft to fund their lifestyle - more deviance
• deviance amplification spiral - jack young


  moral panic about knife crime so more people fearful of being attacked in street

  • more people start carrying knives for ‘protection’