crime marxism

• Marxists believe that capitalism is criminogenic bc capitalism encourages competition, greed, & exploitation, with the goal of individual success in mind (rather than collective wellbeing). Because of the value thats attachted to financial gain, breaking the law can be seen as justified to a means of a profitable end, (eg tax evasion) & non-utilitarian crimes can be rationalised as the result of frustrations caused by capitalist pressures.
• All laws are created for the benefit of the ruling class, and that criminal law reflects this interest. EG laws on property ownership largely those with significant amounts of property
• Snider: Suggests that laws that have been set up to protect the working class, such as the minimum wage, is only to give capitalism a 'nice face' to disguise the exploitation of which they inflict.
• Criminogenic capitalism. Poverty means that crime is the only way

  the W/C can survive. Crime may be the only way they can obtain the consumer goods encouraged by capitalist advertising, and alienation and lack of control over their lives may lead to frustration and aggression, resulting in both utilitarian and non-utilitarian crimes.

  However, crime is not confined to the W/C – capitalism is a ‘dog eat dog’ system of ruthless competition among capitalists. The need to win at all costs or go out of business, along with the desire for self-enrichment, encourages white-collar crimes.
• The law, crime and criminals also perform an ideological function for capitalism. Laws are occasionally passed that appear to be for the benefit of the working class rather than capitalism. However, Pearce argues that such laws often benefit the R/C too – for example, by keeping workers fit for work. By giving capitalism a ‘caring’ face, such laws also create false consciousness among the workers. Such laws, however, aren’t rigorously enforced.
• Furthermore, because the state enforces the law selectively, crime appears to be a largely W/C phenomenon – dividing the W/C by encouraging workers to blame criminals in their midst for their problems, rather than capitalism.
• Criticisms of Marxism:

  ● It largely ignores the relationship between crime and non-class inequalities such as ethnicity,

  ● Too deterministic and over-predicts the amount of crime in the working class: not all poor

  people commit crime, despite the pressures of poverty.

  ● The criminal justice system sometimes does act against the interests of the capitalist class,

  for example prosecutions for corporate crime do occur.
• Laws reflect the interests & is baised in favout of the ruling class. The CJS will arrest & punish the working class, but tend to to enforce the law against the ruling class so rigorously. EG there are much stronger laws against benefit fraud, & offenders are likely to be prosecuted and imprisoned. Whereas laws against tax evasion are much weaker, tax evaders are more likely to be given a warning or asked to repay the tax than be prosecuted.
• Snider: corporate crimes do much more harm, both economic & physcial, than street crime (theft, robbery, assult) . EG BPs oil rig in Mexico exploded and killed 11 people. Caused health problems to all those exposed to the oil & enormous damage to the enviroment as water was polluted & local industries like fishing and tourism.
• Neo Marxist Taylor argues that traditonal Marxism is deterministic as it sees workers as driven to commit crime out of economic necessity. They reject this explanation, along with theories that claim crime is caused by external factors (EG) Instead Taylor takes a more voulntaristic view, seeing crime as meaningful action & a conscious choice by the actor, & often a political act against the bgse. EG Black Panthers in America who used criminal guerilla tatics in course of their political activism. Taylor states that his theory is complete as it unites the origins, the act & the consequences
• Evaluation of neo marxism: Romanticises WC criminals as 'robin hoods' who are fighting capitalism. however in reality these criminals mostly prey on the poor.
• There are many societies that prove that capitalism doesnt cause crime. Cuba is a socialist country which has an extremely high crime rate, whereas Swizterland, a capitalist country, has a low crime rate.

  Ignores the role of the patriachy