Neo- Marxism: critical criminology view of crime and deviance
Neo- Marxists view Neo- Marxists like Taylor, Walton and Young agree with traditional
Marxists that:
- Capitalism is based on exploitation and inequality. This is the
key to understanding crime
- The state makes and enforces laws in the interests of
capitalism and criminalises the working class
However, Taylor et al criticises traditional Marxism for its
determinism. For example, it sees workers as driven to commit crime
out of economic necessity.
They reject this view, along with other theories that claim crime is
caused by external factors such as anomie and blocked opportunities
Voluntarism Taylor et al takes a more voluntaristic view- the idea that we have
free will.
Crime is a conscious choice often with a political motive such as to
redistribute wealth from the rich to the poor. Criminals are
deliberately struggling to change society
A fully social theory Taylor et al aim to create a ‘fully social theory of deviance’- a
of deviance comprehensive theory that would help to change society for the
better.
This theory would have two main sources:
1) Marxists idea about the unequal distribution of wealth and
who has the power to make and enforce the law
2) Labelling theory’s ideas about the meaning of the deviant act
for the actor, societal reactions to it, and the effects of the
deviant label on the individual
Neo- Marxists view Neo- Marxists like Taylor, Walton and Young agree with traditional
Marxists that:
- Capitalism is based on exploitation and inequality. This is the
key to understanding crime
- The state makes and enforces laws in the interests of
capitalism and criminalises the working class
However, Taylor et al criticises traditional Marxism for its
determinism. For example, it sees workers as driven to commit crime
out of economic necessity.
They reject this view, along with other theories that claim crime is
caused by external factors such as anomie and blocked opportunities
Voluntarism Taylor et al takes a more voluntaristic view- the idea that we have
free will.
Crime is a conscious choice often with a political motive such as to
redistribute wealth from the rich to the poor. Criminals are
deliberately struggling to change society
A fully social theory Taylor et al aim to create a ‘fully social theory of deviance’- a
of deviance comprehensive theory that would help to change society for the
better.
This theory would have two main sources:
1) Marxists idea about the unequal distribution of wealth and
who has the power to make and enforce the law
2) Labelling theory’s ideas about the meaning of the deviant act
for the actor, societal reactions to it, and the effects of the
deviant label on the individual
