Marxism - New criminology

• Taylor, Walton and Young - Theory of Deviance

  • Marx produced inadequate explanations of crime
  • Criminals choose to break the law, Reject the idea that human behaviour is directed by external forces
  • Turn to crime to develop their own ‘self concept’
  • Crimes are deliberate and conscious acts with political motives, actively struggling to alter capitalism
  • Want to see a socialist society where deviant groups are tolerated
• Fully Social Theory of Deviance

  Identified 6 aspects of crime and deviance that should be studied

  • Understanding wealth distribution
  • Circumstances surrounding the persons decision to commit crime - context
  • How and why do other members of society react to the act
  • The meaning of the deviant act
  • Reactions need to be explained in terms of the social structure e.g who has the power to make the rules and why are some acts tolerated more than others
  • Labelling theory - effects of the label on deviants future actions