Marxists Crime and Deviance. - 875 Words

Examine some of the ways in which Marxists explain crime Marxist theories of crime, including the more recent neo-Marxist theories, are conflict approaches. They see society based on conflict between social classes, and social inequality caused by capitalism as the driving force behind crime. One way that Marxists explain crime is through the law. Marxists argue that the law functions to reinforce the ideology of society – the power of the ruling class over the working class. Many laws can be seen to function for the benefit of the bourgeoisie, such as property laws. Chambliss claimed that property laws were very important during capitalism, and said ‘the heart of the capitalist economic system is the protection of private property which†¦show more content†¦Neo-Marxists explain crime as a political choice or an act of rebellion. For example, black power movement, women’s liberation movement and the gay liberation front are all examples of fighting back against capitalism. Many crimes against poverty involve the redistribution of wealth. Deviants are not just passive victims of capitalism; they are actively struggling to alter capitalism. Paul Gilroy claims that crimes are frequently conscious and deliberate political acts, a reaction to racis m. In the 1970’s and 1980’s capitalism created the political revolt of Blacks and racist policies of police towards Blacks. Black criminals defended themselves and hit back at a racist society. However, not all crimes are conscious acts of rebellion or political choice. Petty crimes such as littering often have no motivation behind them. Stuart Hall, a neo-Marxist, did a study influenced by Gramsci and his concept of hegemony. The study looks at how muggings were reported in the middle 1970’s and the moral panic that this caused. Hall et all argued those who challenged the hegemonic ideology were labelled as criminals by the state. Black working class began to be labelled as deviant individuals, and the black working class were treated as a reserve pool of labour, with low status, low paid insecure work and high unemployment which lead to petty crimes, living up to their labels. Left realism heavily criticise these theories asShow MoreRelatedMarxists theory to the sociological understanding of crime and deviance913 Words   |  4 Pagesï » ¿Assess the contribution of the Marxist theory to the sociological understanding of crime and deviance. (21 marks) Marxism is a macro/structural approach to society, meaning that it looks at the large-scale societal structure for answers about how society works and operates and explores crime and deviance in relation to classes within a capitalist society. Marxists claim that laws do not reflect a value consensus, instead laws and law enforcement benefits the rich (protection of private property)Read MoreEvaluate the usefulness of Marxist theory to our understanding of crime and deviance1201 Words   |  5 PagesEvaluate the usefulness of Marxist theory to our understanding of crime and deviance (40 marks) Synopticity - Crime Deviance sociological theory Marxist explanations of crime and deviance, like their work on other areas like the family and education, rest on an economic and structural analysis of society that sees a class struggle between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie. This struggle comprises the attempts by the proletariat to free themselves from the domination of the bourgeoisieRead Moreassess the usefulness of Marxist approach to an understanding of crime and deviance‚Äà ´1993 Words   |  8 Pageselsewhere, assess the usefulness of Marxist approach to an understanding of crime and deviance’ (21 marks) There are numerous Marxist theories that help us to understand crime and deviance in different ways, however they are all based around the same ideas. They believe capitalism causes crime in three different ways including, selective law enforcement, criminogenic capitalism and ideological nature of the law. Traditional Marxists believe that crime is inevitable in all societies becauseRead MoreFunctionalist View on Crime1262 Words   |  5 PagesSociologists who study Crime and Deviance examine cultural norms, how they will or might change over time and how they are enforced. Deviance and social norms vary greatly among different societies, communities and times. Crime is considered an activity which breaks the immediate laws of the society an individual is a part of. The nature that determines whether and act is one of crime or deviance is clearly outlined by a set of formal laws which individuals are expected to follow. Deviance on the other handRead MoreOutline and Evaluate Marxist Theories on Crime1431 Words   |  6 PagesOutline and assess Marxist explanations of crime and deviance.    In looking at the Marxist explanation of crime and deviance one must also look to the non-sociologist explanations and those of other different groups in order to come to an informed view of the subject.    The non-sociologist definition of crime and deviance would be that deviance is uncommon behaviour, something that offends the morals or the majority of society, without being harmful or serious enough to be criminal. WhereasRead MoreCrime and Deviance1123 Words   |  5 PagesEvaluate Marxist explanations of Crime and Deviance Labelling theory paved the way in understanding how deviance was something defined by social processes. In this way social agencies such as the police defined what was deviant. Marxists took this view even further by examining the power of certain social groups to define deviance and create the laws which secured social conformity. Marxists see crime and deviance as not coming from moral or biological defects but defects within social order. CrimeRead MoreThe Usefulness of Ocs in Measuring Crime1380 Words   |  6 PagesDeviance is not usually a crime, but may be seen as one. Deviance is when someone breaks the norms and values of a society, but the act is not illegal. Crime is where a person beaks the law of land, they either do something they shouldn’t, or they don’t do something they should. Crime and deviance can be measured with the use of Official Crime Statistic (OCS). OCS is the crimes which are reported by the victim, and then further recorded by the Police. Not all crimes are recorded by the Police, whichRead MoreCriminal And Deviant Behaviour Within Society867 Words   |  4 PagesMarxist claim that the bourgeoisie choose what they consider is criminal and deviant behaviour within society. They say the proletariat are the main culprits of the criminal behaviour, and they and those who are in a lower class are forced into committing crimes to survive as there is no other option for them. The main reason for the high crime rate is due to how the system works. White collar crimes seem to usually be ignored while lesser crimes such as burglary, vandalism and every day street crimeRead MoreCrime And Deviance Essay1649 Words   |  7 PagesCrime can be defined as ‘An action or omission which constitutes an offence and is punishable by law’ (Oxford Dictionary, 2017). It’s the violation of a written law that is set by society and is known as ‘committing a crime’. Deviance is defined as ‘the fact or state of diverging from usual accepted standards, especially in social or sexual behaviour’ (Oxford Dictionaries, 2017). To be deviant would be to perform an act that strays from the normal behaviours, or â€Å"norms† of any given society. ThereRead MoreCompare and contrast two main sociological theories of crime and deviance.1636 Words   |  7 Pagessociological theories of crime and deviance. Deviance and crime are wide-ranging terms used by sociologists to refer to behavior that varies, in some way, from a social norm.  Cultural Norms are societys propensity towards certain ideals; their aversion from others; and their standard, ritualistic practices. Essentially the norm is a summation of typical activities and beliefs of group of people.  This essay will evaluate the sociological theories associated with crime and deviance and to compare and