They may also look at stereotypes the impoverished have towards the wealthy. Symbolic interactionists generally look at the face-to-face interactions between individuals. From a conflict theory perspective, poverty is imposed; reflecting unequal power among social groups, and it will continue to be imposed until those harmed by it manage to force a change. Conflict theory would also argue that the explanations offered by functionalism and symbolic interactionism theory are themselves part of what sustains poverty, as they conceal its true origins and encourage the poor to accept existing social arrangements rather than organize to combat them. Another important question to ask about any explanation or policy proposal is "who benefits?” It is said to have been a principle of criminal investigation in Rome that those who stood to gain from an event were probably the ones responsible for it.
Believers and people who practice both socialism and capitalism have heavy criticism of each other. Socialists for example believe that Capitalists produce a system where there is a clear distinction among the rich and the poor. The system is believed to encourage exploitation of workers, so that the business owners become wealthy. These business owners are the ones in many cases who influence policies, by using their wealth to getting what they want, by funding political campaigns, for example. Capitalists, on the other hand, believe that Socialists deny people their basic rights of freedom of decisions and opportunities.
There are numerous procedures the government can implement to reduce crime and by doing this, increase the levels of productivity within the nation. These include precautionary measures, rehabilitation measures as well as reformatory measures. Crime results in a depreciation in the economy of a country. When criminal activity is rampant, the government must dish out funds to construct rehabilitation centers and replace lost/ damaged material. When an individual is arrested, the labour force of the country is enfeebled and thus results in less profits in the economy.
Very often the rich push the poor by removing workers rights, by limiting corporate liability, by instigating war. I could go on, but you get the point. Society is essentially a contract. The poor work in order to make the rich wealthier. That's how it works.
High Crime in Urban Areas Travis E. Heath SOC 305 Crime & Society Timothy Knox 5 November 2012 Abstract Crime and our criminal justice system affect everyone in the United States in one way or another, weather you are a criminal or the victim. Impoverished urban areas with a large minority population are disproportionally impacted. Through my research I discovered that a higher number of violent and drug related crime occur in theses areas. I also found that studies show that people within minority groups are more likely to suffer hasher punishment for similar crimes committed by non-minority groups. In this research paper I will analyze the break down the officially recognized races in the US, crimes specifically relate to these urban areas that are not present in more rural and suburban areas, finally how are crimes handled both at the judicial and executive levels in poverty-stricken communities as opposed to upper class communities.
Using material from item B and elsewhere assess the usefulness of Marxist approaches in explaining crime Marxism is a conflict theory established by Karl Marx. Marxists believe that the capitalist system is just a way in which the ruling classes (the bourgeoisie) control and exploit the workers (the proletariat), and it focuses on the unequal conflict between these two sectors of society. Marxists believe that the capitalist system is criminogenic – which means that by its nature it inevitably causes crime. As item B states, Marxists see crime in the capitalist system as ‘a tool of the ruling class’ where they can control the working class and crime is an unavoidable result because of the oppression the working class are subject to. They also believe that laws are enforced mostly to benefit the interests of the ruling class.
With poverty being the most substantial factor in this writer’s opinion, because one can remove all other facets and keep only poverty, which still puts this particular social class in the most prevalent community to commit deviant acts. Although, with this research it has been found that another median exist that is not viewed as the standard definition of crime and punishment. However, is more powerful and more imposing on social norms then we as a society are willing to acknowledge and comprehend. Moreover, the median in question is greed and power that can be looked at through the history of this or any other culture or nation. With how to contain a growing population of prisoners America has transformed from a publicly or governmentally run prison facilities, into a shift to ever growing for profit private prison institution systems.
Theoretical Perspectives of Crime Shontell White SOC101 Larry Pace February 13, 2012 Social problems are macro-level conditions that undermine the well-being of some or all members of a society and are usually a matter of public controversy (Macionis, 2010). Social problems exist because people are not in agreement on (a) if certain things actually are problems, (b) why they are caused, and (c) what should be done about them (Vissing 2011). Scientists suggest that social problems depend on a person’s theoretical perspective. There are three theoretical perspectives: functionalism, conflict, and symbolic interactionism. Social problems and issues can lead to crime.
Some examples of such would be, illegally lobbying or bribing government leaders to gain passage of certain laws, or tax codes. Another form of class conflict may include, a lock out aimed at destroying a labor union, and this is called “open conflict”, or “hidden conflict”, which could be a slowdown in production protesting the wages being paid. According to Karl Marx however, class conflict and struggle are inevitable dissentions that occur because of the economic organization of most societies (Johnson, 2000). Marx also believed that class is defined by the ownership of property and such ownership vests a person with the power to exclude others from the property and to use it for personal purposes. In relation to property, there are three classes of society, they include, the bourgeoisie or the people who own the means of production such as factory and machinery buildings, and whose income is profit, landowners whose income is rent, and the proletariat who own their labor and sell it for a wage.
Conflict theory in criminal justice is that the law is used to maintain the power of the dominate group in society and to control the behavior of the individuals who threaten that power (Walker, Cassia, & Miriam, 2012, p. 22).” Conflict theorists believe that laws were designed so the punishments were harsher for typical crimes committed by the lower class. An example of this is street crimes, even minor financial ones are routinely punished quite severely, while large scale financial and business crimes are treated much more leniently. Theft of a television might receive a longer sentence than stealing millions through illegal business practices. Another example when it pertains to juveniles comes from “William Chambliss, in a classic essay “The Saints and the Roughnecks,” which compared the outcomes for two groups of adolescent misbehavers. The first, a lower class group of boys, was hounded by the local police and labeled by teachers as delinquents and future criminals, while the upper-middle class boys were equally deviant, but their actions were written off as youthful indiscretions and learning experiences (Greek, 2005).” “The consensus model assumes that as people gather together to form a society, its members will naturally come