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.
However, could there be an actual connection between Marxism and criminology? Critical criminologists believe that the upper classes always decide what a crime is and how it will be punished. They use the justice system to control the lower classes and prevent them from gaining power. They feel that many justice systems are unfair for that reason. That's why critical criminologists concentrate on different areas like postmodern structures and capitalism and their effects or relationships with crime and justice systems.
The criminal commit crimes for personal gain, money, power, and status. The “choice theory” was developed by an Italian philosopher named Cesare Becarria in the 18th century. Becarria believed that criminals were social deviants that choose to commit the crime even know that it is wrong. The most common model used to determine which acts are considered criminal are the consensus model and the conflict model. The consensus model is the model that most of people in the world live by moral values and beliefs.
Anomic theory is considered a sociological theory that tries to explain the pattern of crimes through macro level of analysis. Criminals commit crime on the basics that abnormal conditions and their surroundings cause them to have to act on it. There have been assumptions that poor commit more crimes than others. Based on several analysis crime are generally committed based on needs rather than wants. Anomie theory provides an explanation of the concentration of crime.
Beccaria also says that people chose to commit crimes for greed and personal need. Also he concluded that punishment is necessary and that the punishment should be in proportion to the crime. Origins of different sentencing schemes in the United States are traced to Beccaria. Beccaria says that punishments should be swift, certain, and just. The Positivist School theory explains crime in the sense that people are destined to be criminals based on factors outside their control.
Like the item says, 'functionalist sociologists focus on how far individuals accept the norms and values of society.' Durkheim blames people not being fully integrated into society’s norms and values as to why they commit crime. So he said once people have served their time for their crime, they should be reintegrated. It’s a strength that Durkheim suggests them being reintegrated as it means they’re less likely to reoffend if they feel they belong to their society and do not look for status through crime. However, interactionists would say that agents of social control cause crime, not the society you are in.
In recent times, there is a growing concern of wealth inequality in America. This has really drawn criticism and challenge to capitalism as the model of socio-economic structure. Debates surrounding this issue are often traditionally addressed through two models: communism and capitalism. Karl Marx, in his work, “The Communist Manifesto,” criticizes capitalism for it’s preaching of individualism and competition, which leads to the exploitation of the working class thus resulting in further antagonization between socio-economic classes. Marx ends his criticism by offering up the complete abandonment of capitalist system in favor of a communistic system in which socio-economic autonomy is in the hands of the state.
Self-determination was a criticism of European imperialism but also an attack on the seizure of power by small armed groups like the Bolsheviks. The Bolsheviks called the idea of collective security and a world peace keeping organization “a mechanism of world capitalism”. Wilson’s ideas were based on traditional U.S. values of personal and economic freedom (democracy and capitalism). Communism was hostile to capitalist economic development; Marx called it “exploitation”. This posed a threat to the greater freedom of world capitalism as an open market would require the dismantling of trade barriers and spheres of influence.
Rather than focusing on social situations, the criminal and deviant act, the interactionists focused on the reaction to the act and its effects on the deviant individual. One main possible criticisms of interactionist theory is that to some extent ignores and privatisation and its effect on crime. Can negative labelling be the only reason that crime is predominantly more in working class area than in middle class ones? The “new criminology” was a radical development of traditional Marxist theory (Young, Walton and Taylor) they attempted to combine the process of labelling with Marxist explanations of social inequality to explain crime. A criticism of both the original interactionists and the new criminology came from the “New Left Realists”
I have concluded that substance abuse is a huge contributor to crimes being committed. The lack or decrease in moral intuition and character can cause a person to make bad decisions. This would cause people not to understand the benefits of to abiding to common social values. A person demographics can also play a role in determining whether or not an individual will turn to a life of crime. Government officials, politicians, and courts employees have concluded that individuals commit crimes for private alternatives and they should be punished and held responsible for their actions and conduct.