Summary sociology mini exam response examples crime and deviance

Sociology map:

Q1

One way in which the nature of capitalism may cause people to commit crimes is as the system is
criminogenic, being that it is based on that of competition. The nature of capitalism it self creates a
society based on competition in that the ruling class or the bourgeoisie act to exploit the working
class or the proletariat for purpose of self gain and obtaining the mainstream goals of society. This
then put the working class in a disadvantaged position as they lack the basic resources the live the
promoted lifestyle or obtain the items advertised to them through the capitalist system. Capitalism
therefore causes crime as it pushes individuals to commit utilitarian crimes, in order to access the
means of which are easier obtain by the ruling class, being that to an extent the working class are
denied them.

Another way in which capitalism may cause for people to commit crime is through selective law
enforcement, being that the ruling class use their influence over the criminal justice system to
develop laws in which protect themselves and better allow them to commit crime without
prosecution. They therefore, instead, make laws that effect that of the working class, being that their
actions are criminalised, actions of which they are supposedly made to carry out in order to survive
in a capitalist system. Sociologist Box argues that the riches actions are in fact protected by the law,
as well as their interests. Being seen such as when Chambliss states that the law acts to protect their
property, seem to be true in the instance of vagrancy laws. Selective law enforcement, existing in a
capitalist society, therefore pushed individuals to commit crime as the actions of which they carry
out for survival in society are criminalised as to protect the means and interests of the ruling class.

Q2

One reason in which deviant subcultures exist is due to status frustration, which as developed by
Cohen is the theory of which where young individuals, typically that of the male working class, are
singled out and neglected by society in regards to their lack of societal status. This starts off within
the education system, whereby working class individuals lack the socialisation, cultural capital and
vocabulary to achieve. This disadvantage occurs as through socialisation their middle class peers
already possess the skills and values to succeed academically. Within this a form of labelling occurs,
whereby the working class student is viewed to be lower on the social scale, this label then becomes
internalised. As the student fails to succeed academically, they retreat to a subculture, of which
contains values, norms and goals of which they can relate to and obtain. A deviant subculture is then
produced as the working class individual learns to seek status within their new found subculture,
rejecting the mainstream goals to be a part of a collective whereby they are given a more realistic
opportunity for climbing up the social hierarchy and gaining the status they can not obtain within
larger society.

Another reason in which deviant subcultures exist is due to illegitimate opportunities, as developed
on by Cloward and Ohlin, who put forward the concept that subcultures arise due to working class
individuals being excluded from the means to achieve societal goals, of which are given to middle
class individuals. There are various subcultures in which are thought to arise within this theory, one
of these being that of a conflict subculture, whereby a lack of social cohesion causes for an individual
to be pushed towards committing crime as a lack of social control leaves them greater exposed.
Furthermore, the retreatest subculture proposes that individuals turn to drug use in groups of other
individuals who could not succeed within other subcultures, while the criminal subculture suggests
that individual commit crime by being given criminal careers by existing subcultures. These