Marxist view on crime:
Intro:
Marxists can be defined as a structural theory with a macro
perspective
It believes that agents of social control are biased against the
working class in a capitalist society which is criminogenic thus they
argue working class crime is inevitable whilst capitalism exists
Marxism faces criticism from a variety of sociological perspectives
and is far from a perfect explanation on the causes of crime
Point 1: Capitalism is criminogenic
AO2:
Marxists take the view that capitalism is criminogenic. Due to the
meritocratic ideology of the capitalist system, self-interest is put
before public service and as Marxists argue, many working class and
ruling class turn to criminality to achieve these self-interests
Gordon describes the capitalist system as a “dog eat dog world” as
crime is a product of poverty and relative deprivation, he argues
that crime is a realistic and rational response when facing
inequalities
People are unable to achieve their economic goals through
legitimate means, promoting materialism, and to achieve this some
use illegitimate means such as crime and deviance, due to this
“culture of envy”
Thus, Marxists highlight that crime and deviance is inevitable in a
capitalist society due to this status frustration felt by the proletariat,
whereas middle class crime is facilitated by greed
This unattainable competitiveness in life is expressed by Rothkopf,
who illustrates the disjointed inequality between the “superclass”
owners of global corporation and the proletariat, which shows that
capitalism is believed to cause crime
AO3:
However, Switzerland is a capitalist society with statistically low
crime rates. For example, in 2016, 92 homicides were committed,
compared to 597 in England and Wales during the same year. This
shows that the Marxist view that a Socialist Revolution will solve
crime is inaccurate as a capitalist society is functioning well
In addition, Functionalists, such as Durkheim, would argue that
capitalism is good and anomie is the cause of crime and deviance
within a society. As the power of social control has declined,
normlessness results and deviant behaviours emerge, weakening
the collective conscience
Although, Functionalists do agree that crime is inevitable, they also
take the view that it is functional for society as crime brings people
together, reinforcing society’s shared values
This view contradicts the Marxist perspective as it suggests that
crime is not caused by capitalist imposition, but poor socialisation
and suggests that the Marxist negative view might be inaccurate,
, not giving a full perspective of crime, as Functionalists present
crime as positive
Point 2: Selective Law Enforcement
AO2:
Marxists view the state and law-making bodies as biased in favour
of the ruling class
Box argues this is because of the inequalities in the access to the
process of making laws. It is more difficult for lower classes to act as
law makers as this is an area in which the ruling class has a vast
amount of cultural capital
Pearce argued that laws supposedly meant to benefit the working
class ultimately benefitted the ruling class
For example, the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 benefitted not
the worker but the bourgeoisie managers of companies, protecting
them from lawsuits. This arguably creates a false class
consciousness and complacent workers for the capitalist agenda
Furthermore, the ruling class have the ability to prevent laws being
passed which harm their own interests and have ways to protect
themselves from these laws. For example, the Brock Turner case
clearly illustrates classism and racism in the American Justice
System
Snider touches on this inequality of class, stating laws which
regulate large capitalist concerns are not regularly enforced. A key
example of this would be the high prosecution rate for benefit
cheating, versus the low prosecution rate of tax evasion, which cost
the UK an estimated £5.2 billion in 2017
Thus, expressing Marxist concerns of the imbalance within the
Justice System
AO3:
However, subcultural theorists criticise the view that all working
class are adhering to the false class consciousness
Cohen highlights the fact that status frustration and failure to
achieve mainstream goals leads to the creation of a “delinquent
subculture,” in which status is achieved in a complete reversal of
the mainstream norms/goals far removed from the false class
consciousness expressed by Pearce
The Marxist perspective would be described as too deterministic by
Neo Marxists Taylor, Walton and Young, as they believe the working
class deliberately commit crime to usurp capitalism, redistributing
wealth from the rich to the poor
Arguably, expressing that the Marxist view that the ruling class
controls the state is inaccurate and therefore crime and deviance is
not a completely negative actions, and the working classes arguably
do have power over their actions
Point 3: Repressive State Apparatus
AO2:
Intro:
Marxists can be defined as a structural theory with a macro
perspective
It believes that agents of social control are biased against the
working class in a capitalist society which is criminogenic thus they
argue working class crime is inevitable whilst capitalism exists
Marxism faces criticism from a variety of sociological perspectives
and is far from a perfect explanation on the causes of crime
Point 1: Capitalism is criminogenic
AO2:
Marxists take the view that capitalism is criminogenic. Due to the
meritocratic ideology of the capitalist system, self-interest is put
before public service and as Marxists argue, many working class and
ruling class turn to criminality to achieve these self-interests
Gordon describes the capitalist system as a “dog eat dog world” as
crime is a product of poverty and relative deprivation, he argues
that crime is a realistic and rational response when facing
inequalities
People are unable to achieve their economic goals through
legitimate means, promoting materialism, and to achieve this some
use illegitimate means such as crime and deviance, due to this
“culture of envy”
Thus, Marxists highlight that crime and deviance is inevitable in a
capitalist society due to this status frustration felt by the proletariat,
whereas middle class crime is facilitated by greed
This unattainable competitiveness in life is expressed by Rothkopf,
who illustrates the disjointed inequality between the “superclass”
owners of global corporation and the proletariat, which shows that
capitalism is believed to cause crime
AO3:
However, Switzerland is a capitalist society with statistically low
crime rates. For example, in 2016, 92 homicides were committed,
compared to 597 in England and Wales during the same year. This
shows that the Marxist view that a Socialist Revolution will solve
crime is inaccurate as a capitalist society is functioning well
In addition, Functionalists, such as Durkheim, would argue that
capitalism is good and anomie is the cause of crime and deviance
within a society. As the power of social control has declined,
normlessness results and deviant behaviours emerge, weakening
the collective conscience
Although, Functionalists do agree that crime is inevitable, they also
take the view that it is functional for society as crime brings people
together, reinforcing society’s shared values
This view contradicts the Marxist perspective as it suggests that
crime is not caused by capitalist imposition, but poor socialisation
and suggests that the Marxist negative view might be inaccurate,
, not giving a full perspective of crime, as Functionalists present
crime as positive
Point 2: Selective Law Enforcement
AO2:
Marxists view the state and law-making bodies as biased in favour
of the ruling class
Box argues this is because of the inequalities in the access to the
process of making laws. It is more difficult for lower classes to act as
law makers as this is an area in which the ruling class has a vast
amount of cultural capital
Pearce argued that laws supposedly meant to benefit the working
class ultimately benefitted the ruling class
For example, the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 benefitted not
the worker but the bourgeoisie managers of companies, protecting
them from lawsuits. This arguably creates a false class
consciousness and complacent workers for the capitalist agenda
Furthermore, the ruling class have the ability to prevent laws being
passed which harm their own interests and have ways to protect
themselves from these laws. For example, the Brock Turner case
clearly illustrates classism and racism in the American Justice
System
Snider touches on this inequality of class, stating laws which
regulate large capitalist concerns are not regularly enforced. A key
example of this would be the high prosecution rate for benefit
cheating, versus the low prosecution rate of tax evasion, which cost
the UK an estimated £5.2 billion in 2017
Thus, expressing Marxist concerns of the imbalance within the
Justice System
AO3:
However, subcultural theorists criticise the view that all working
class are adhering to the false class consciousness
Cohen highlights the fact that status frustration and failure to
achieve mainstream goals leads to the creation of a “delinquent
subculture,” in which status is achieved in a complete reversal of
the mainstream norms/goals far removed from the false class
consciousness expressed by Pearce
The Marxist perspective would be described as too deterministic by
Neo Marxists Taylor, Walton and Young, as they believe the working
class deliberately commit crime to usurp capitalism, redistributing
wealth from the rich to the poor
Arguably, expressing that the Marxist view that the ruling class
controls the state is inaccurate and therefore crime and deviance is
not a completely negative actions, and the working classes arguably
do have power over their actions
Point 3: Repressive State Apparatus
AO2:
