Left realism

• What do left realists believe

  They aim to uncover the reasons behind why people commit crime, and look at ways in which we can improve society in order to prevent crime from happening in the first place
• What are the left realist explanations of the cause of crime

  • Relative deprivation theory
  • subcultural theory
  • Marginalisation theory
  • Later modernity and social exclusion
• Explain marginalisation theory - left realism

  • Society has the tendency to marginalise the unemployed and the young
  • marginalisation refers to individuals that are socially excluded and made to feel devalued by society
  • those that are unemployed are not part of a bigger organisation and are looked down upon by society as they are ‘workshy’ or ‘unintelligent’
  • status frustration is when they become angered by their lack of control and respect
  • e.g they express their frustration through rioting
• Explain subcultural theory - left realism

  • Subcultures are groups of people whose norms and values are at odds to those of mainstream society and who engage in collective acts of deviance as a group
  • these individuals gravitate towards like minded peers that share their sense of injustice
  • there are different subcultural responses
• What are the different subcultural responses stated in the subcultural theory - left realism

  • Conformist subculture
  • deviant subcultures (Innovative or retreatist)
• Explain conformist subcultures - subcultural theory

  • Involves individuals participating in organised religious activities
  • people that have struggled in life find comfort in religion
  • religion offers a theodicy of disprivilege
• Explain innovative deviant subcultures - subcultural theory

  • Individuals in these subcultures use street crime and organised networks to access higher levels of wealth and material success
• Explain retreatist deviant subcultures - subcultural theory

  • This is where people giving up on achieving goals instead come together to engage in deviant behaviours such as drug taking
• Explain relative deprivation theory - left realism

  • the standard of living has increased in the UK as well as the amount of crime which is linked to relative deprivation
  • there is a large amount of people that do not have access to the comfortable living standards and material goods others do
  • due to the media they are aware of what people have which creates a sense of envy and resentment
  • We live in a culture where people are encouraged to put themselves first - individualistic culture
  • crime is a likely response as they don’t think of the impact on others
• Which sociologist produced the late modernity and social exclusion explanation - left realism

  Young
• What does the late modernity and social exclusion explanation state are reasons why people turn to crime - left realism

  • There have been a number of changes to society since the 1970s which have negatively impacted the working class
  • Current societies are creating a conflict for individuals between the desire to be culturally included whilst finding themselves economically excluded
• What changes have been made in society that have negatively impacted the w.c - late modernity and social exclusion

  • Deindustrialisation led to the closure of factories and mills causing high unemployment
  • an increase in migrants to the UK has led to the displacement of some white w.c communities so they have a more insecure existence
• Why are individuals facing a conflict between desiring to be culturally included but are economically excluded - late modernity and social exclusion

  • Our culture has become more media saturated meaning people are exposed to material goods and consumerism making them desire such things
  • society emphasises that everyone should have a good life of leisure and personal time meaning people have higher expectations of what their quality of life should be
  • the growing income gap means that everyone wants to achieve the same goals but those at the bottom of the social hierarchy struggle to achieve them
• What solutions do left realists propose to reduce crime

  • Social and cultural crime prevention
  • community policing
• Explain social crime prevention - left realist solution

  They believe that steps need to be taken to improve communities relationship with the police to prevent them from turning to crime in the first place
• Explain social and cultural crime prevention - left realism solution

  • They believe that most crime is caused by issues relating to wealth inequalities, status and opportunity
  • crime can be reduced if the government simply tackle the structural causes of those inequalities
  • e.g invest in public services such as the welfare state so that people have access to support that gives their lives meaning
  • e.g invest in education so that young people get good qualifications and more of them can then enter the job market
• Explain community policing - left realist solution

  • They think that police should build relationships with communities and present themselves as humans and a caring group rather than taking a zero tolerance approach
  • theyll show that they are looking out for their interests rather than trying to control them
  • this will hopefully build trust and lead to communities working with the police rather than against them
• What is the difference between right and left realism

  • Right realists blame individuals lack of self control where as left realists blame structural inequalities and relative deprivation
  • right realists propose harsh solutions that prioritise social order where as left realists propose reducing the inequalities instead