Conflict and radical theory

1
Conflict and radical theory

• Explaining crime

2
Culture deviance theory

• People in poverty cope by creating an
  independent subculture with its own set of rules
  and values
• Middle class hard work, delayed gratification,
  formal education, caution
• Lower class (Miller) argued that there are
  different rules on the street

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Miller (cont)

• Those who follow the street rules of lower class
  life find themselves in conflict with the
  dominant middle class culture
• Focal concerns in street culture (not a
  rebellion--evolved to deal with conditions in
  slums) Miller identified six such concerns

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Focal concerns

• 1. Trouble involvement in fighting, drinking,
  etc.
• 2. Toughness strength, fighting ability,
  athletic skill
• 3. Smartness being street-wise, able to outcon
  others
• 4. Excitement--search for fun to enliven a drab
  life--gambling, fighting, drinking

5
Focal concerns

• 5. Fate what happens is fate, luck
• 6. Autonomy personal freedom, resistance
  against controlled environments, such as schools,
  CJS, etc.
• These concerns put people at odds with those of
  the larger culture, and make them more likely to
  get into trouble

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Conflict theory

• Crime is a function of conflict
• The more conflict in a society, the more crime
• Societies with little conflict, little crime
• Sellin and culture conflict theory
• Primary culture conflict two cultures come into
  conflict. Less dominant culture will have the
  higher crime rate

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Culture conflict

• Examples can be seen worldwide
• Secondary culture conflict a subculture within
  a society is at odds with the dominant culture
• According to conflict theorists, conflict might
  be over money and other material goods, power, or
  how a particular issue is decided

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Conflict (cont)

• Societies may have a variety of groups, all
  competing for different goals and prizes
• These groups are dynamic, and change
• Sometimes groups might come together over a
  particular issue
• Even a powerless group might obtain power by
  banding together

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Conflict (cont)

• Generally, there are likely to be some groups
  that consistently have more power than others
• They determine the laws, and carry them out
  different groups may be treated differently

10
Radical and Marxian theory

• Marx
• Dialectic thesis, antithesis, synthesis
• Change due to conflict of competing economic
  systems
• History is a succession of economic arrangements,
  as the weak struggle against exploitation by the
  powerful
• Succession of ever-improving systems

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Marx (continued)

• Progress is attained by the rise and fall of
  economic systems
• Major epochs in history
• 1. ancient slave
• 2. feudalism
• 3. capitalism
• 4. socialism
• 5. communism

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Marx (cont)

• All economic orders have been characterized by
  the class struggle
• Class is the great divider
• The ruling class owns everything and forces
  workers into exploitation
• Capitalism overthrew feudalism, provided goods to
  more people, and instituted constitutional
  government

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Marx (cont)

• However, the workers are still exploited, paid a
  fraction of their worth
• 19th century working conditions, child labor
• Marx believed that the workers would rise up,
  take over the means of production. Capitalism
  will be replaced by socialism, and then by
  communism

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Marx (cont)

• When the means of production are no longer owned
  by individuals, the class struggle will cease.
• The state will wither away. From each according
  to his ability, to each according to his need.
• Marx thought that crime was a function of the
  economic system--capitalism

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Marx continued

• Modern capitalist societies involved a perpetual
  class struggle
• Ruling class determines what is a crime, based on
  their own self-interests, and create the CJS to
  support it.
• They create social conditions which create
  criminals out of the working class

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Marx (cont)

• When people are freed from the class struggle,
  people will become cooperative, and the result
  will be a crime-free society
• People are inherently good, there will be little
  or no crime in a communist society

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Modern radical theorists (Quinney)

• Marxs predictions did not all turn out as
  expected
• Revolutions occurred in feudalistic societies
  such as Russia and China, rather than Germany and
  Great Britain. The revolutions did not take
  place in western Europe or the U.S.
• Radical theorists attempted to explain

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Radical

• American society is based on an advanced
  capitalist economy
• Very large middle class involved in service
  occupation
• a shrinking manufacturing and agricultural base
• a small group of private owners

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Radical

• These changes, particularly the increasing size
  of the middle class, helped to prevent revolution
• The state is still organized to serve the
  interests of the ruling class, and the CJS
  represents ruling class interests in preserving
  domestic order

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Radical (cont)

• Advanced capitalism requires that the lower
  classes remain oppressed by whatever means
  necessary, especially through the coercion and
  violence of the legal system
• Capitalism will collapse--the workers are still
  oppressed. Furthermore, the middle class becomes
  more sophisticated

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Radical (continued)

• Only when capitalism is replaced by socialism,
  will there be a solution to the crime problem
• Criminologists are merely servants to capitalism,
  reinforce its values
• Criminologists should develop a political
  movement to promote revolution

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Radical--comments

• Methodological rigor is lacking. It is the case,
  however, that they have pointed out that a very
  small number of people are disproportionately
  wealthy
• Socialistic countries have crime problems
• Nature of man issue

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Economy and crime

• Economics study of production, distribution,
  exchange and consumption of goods
• Occupies a major portion of human activities
• Economy and crime

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Economy Methodological Problems

• Two types of studies
• Cross-sectional--different economies, same time
• Longitudinal--one economy over time
• Problems
• 1. Data are not always accurate (UCR, economic
  indices--unemployment)

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Methological (cont)

• 2. Correlational studies economy might alter
  crime rate, but also vice versa, or the economy
  and crime may be affected by other factors.
  Cannot do an experiment
• 3. Time lag--how long does it take an economic
  event to affect crime?
• 4. Poverty is subjective

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Hypotheses about economy

• 1. Declining economy (poverty, need) hypothesis
  as the economy gets worse, the crime rate will
  increase
• Lack of legimate job opportunities drives people
  to crime (strain)
• Capitalism encourages greed, and the CJS
  criminalizes the greed of the poor
  (Marxist/radical)

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Hypotheses (cont)

• 2. As the economy gets better, the crime rate
  will increase
• When people are more affluent, there is more
  worth stealing, more temptations (i.e., auto
  theft)
• With affluence, there are more criminal
  opportunities (drugs, gambling, etc.)

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Hypotheses (cont)

• 3. Relative deprivation Perceived economic
  inequality affects crime rate. People perceive
  inequality, feel unfairly treated, resentment and
  frustration, aggression and crime (envy
  hypothesis)
• Outgrowth of reference group (or social
  comparison) theory. Satisfaction depends on who
  one compares onself with--effects of television

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Hypotheses (cont)

• 4. Common cause hypothesis Unemployment and
  crime are caused by common factors
• Impulsivity, low verbal intelligence,
  sensation-seeking, dropping out (drop-outs two
  times as likely to be unemployed)

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Hypotheses (cont)

• 5. Crime may cause unemployment if crime pays,
  people may become unemployed
• 6. No relationship

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Research on need hypothesis

• TARP project provided money to parolees
• no effect on recidivism of young males
• Less recidivism among older males and those with
  families
• Manpower project added training. Again,
  effective with older males, and with females

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Income inequality

• GINI Index
• Measure of Income disparity
• Ranges from 0 to 1
• 0 would indicate that everyone had the same
  amount
• Lower coefficient indicates a higher level of
  economic equality

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GINI

• Denmark 24.7, Japan 24.9
• Russia 31, Canada 33, UK and Italy
• 36
• U.S. ranks 92nd out of 124 nations, with 46.6,
  more income inequality
• All of the nations higher than this are 3rd world
  countries

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Income inequality

• Highest are Sierra Leone, Botswana, Lesotho
  (around 63), Namibia the highest with 70.7
• GINI index highly correlated with homicide
  rateshigher GINI index, higher homicide rates