Classical marxists

• Capitalism is...

  criminogenic
• How is some Marxist criminology transgressive?

  • they also consider legal acts that are harmful->> violating moral/ social boundaries
  • they see the law as created by the ruling-class for their own means= what is legal may be harmful as it works in the ruling class' favour
• Chambliss(1976)

  • most law in the US/ UK is property law->> protects the cornerstone of the ruling class' wealth
  • member so the ruling class= part of crime syndicate that used wealth/ influence to bribe and avoid punishment
  • ->> universal laws typically used to control w/c and protect the rich
• Graham(1976)

  • war on drugs focused on what wasn't beneficiary to the bourgeosie
  • ->> amphetamines much more loosely policed as they were sold to pharmaceutical companies= profit
• Pearce (1976)

  • laws that appeared to help workers really helped the bourgeoise
  • health and safety laws->> healthy human capital= an increase in productivity
  • Snider->> laws such as these loosely reinforced= for show and ruling-class protection made a priority
• White-collar crime , corporate crime, state crime->> Marxist focus

  much less policed than petty crime/ anti-social behaviour
• Classical Marxist evaluations

  • crime exists in non-capitalist societies however eg. SU in 20th century
  • in contemporary societies= property law doesn't only protect the ruling class->> property crime against bourgeoisie taken more seriously
  • in modern democracies law maker elected and general consensus about what constitutes as a crime
  • present w/c as passive