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CHAPTER SIX: CRITICAL THEORIES: MARXIST, CONFLICT, AND FEMINIST Chapter Outline I. The Conflict Perspective of Society a.

Critical theorists see society riddled with dissension, inequality, and conflict b. Any apparent consensus in society is maintained by overt and covert coercion c. Critical criminology: An umbrella term chosen for a variety of theories united only b the assumption that conflict and power relations between various classes of people best characterize the nature of society II. Karl Marx and Revolution a. The core of Marxist is the concept of class struggle b. In Marxs time the oppressors were the wealth owners of the means of production (the bourgeoisie) and the oppressed were the working class (the proletariat) c. The ruling class always develops ideologies to justify and legitimize their exploitation d. Marx called the workers acceptance of ideologies that ran counter to their interests false consciousness e. In time, false consciousness would be replaced by class consciousness; that is, the recognition of a common class condition and the development of a common unity in opposition to capitalist exploitation. This would set the stage for revolution III. Marx and Engels on Crime a. According to Marx and Engels, criminals came from a third class in societythe lumpenproletariatwho would play no decisive role in the expected revolution

b. Crime was the product of an unjust, alienating, and demoralizing social condition that denied productive labor to the masses of unemployed c. The origin of crime has come to be known as the primitive rebellion d. Capitalist societies pass laws that criminalize any action that jeopardizes private property and tend to overlook many socially injurious activities viewed as economically beneficial for the ruling class IV. Willem Bonger: The First Marxist Criminologist a. Willem Bonger: Criminality and Economic Conditions (1969) supported the view that the roots of crime lay in the exploitative and alienating conditions of capitalism b. The social sentiments that concerned him were altruisman active concern for the well-being of othersand its opposite, egoism, a concern only for ones own selfish interests c. According to Bonger, all individuals in capitalist societies are infected by egoism because they are alienated from authentic social relationships with their fellow human beings, and all are thus prone to crime d. The root cause of crime is the capitalist mode of production e. Poverty was the major cause of crime, but the effects of poverty can be traced to the family structure and on parental inability to properly supervise their children V. Modern Marxist Criminology a. NeoMarxist criminology is little more than maudlin sentimentality for criminals

b. Many neoMarxist criminologists appear to view the class struggle is the only source of all crime and to view real crime as violations of human rights, such as racism, sexism, imperialism, and capitalism c. Other neoMarxists are faithful to Marxs view and are critical of common street crime as an activity preventing the formation of proletarian class consciousness VI. Left RealismTaking Crime Seriously a. Left realist criminologists believe that the path of least resistance is to work within the system b. People make choices for which they must be held accountable, but there are a variety of conditions that make some choices more probable and understandable than others VII. Conflict Theory: Max Weber, Power and Conflict

a. Max Weber had an interest in the social change wrought by the industrial revolution and in social conflict b. Weber viewed the various class divisions in society as normal, inevitable, and acceptable c. Criminality exists in all societies and is the result of the political struggle among different groups attempting to promote or enhance their life chances VIII. From Individual Violators to Group Struggles

a. George Vold moved conflict away from an exclusive emphasis of value and normative conflicts to include conflicts of interest b. Social life is a continual struggle to maintain or improve ones own groups interest in a constant clash of antagonistic actions

c. Volds conflict theory concentrates entirely on the clash of individuals loyally upholding their differing group interests, and has no interest in explaining crime unrelated to group conflict d. Conflict is a way of assuring social change, a way of generating group solidarity, and a way of assuring social stability IX. The Social Reality of Crime a. The ultimate cause of crime is the law b. Conflict criminologists differ from neoMarxist criminology in that it concentrates on the processes of value conflict and lawmaking rather than on the social structural elements underlying them c. Conflict theorists make no value judgment about whether crime is socially harmful, the actions of revolutionaries, or violations of human rights d. Conflict theorists tend to share neo-Marxisms fondness for research illustrating some principle of their perspectives rather than formulating hypotheses from it and putting them to the test X. Postmodernist Theory a. Postmodernist criminology is firmly in the critical/radical tradition in that it views the law as an oppressive instrument of the rich and powerful, but it rejects the modernist view of the world b. All knowledge is socially constructed and has no independent reality apart from the minds of those who create it c. All worldviews are mediated by language

d. The dominant language of society is the language of the rich and powerful, and by virtue of owning the dominant language their point of view is privileged XI. Peacemaking Criminology a. Peacemaking criminology has the philosophy of peace on crime b. Punishing criminals escalates violence c. In place of imprisoning offenders, peacemaking criminologists advocate restorative justice, which is basically a system of mediation and conflict resolution XII. Feminist Criminology

a. Feminism is a set of theories and strategies for social change that take gender as their central focus in attempting to understand social institutions, processes, and relationships b. Mainstream feminism holds the view that women suffer oppression and discrimination in a society run for men by men who have passed laws and created customs to perpetuate their privileged position c. Gender and power rather than class and power d. Female crime has been virtually ignored by mainstream criminology e. Generalizability problem: Do traditional male-centered theories of crime apply to women? f. Gender ratio problem: What explains the universal fact that women are far less likely then men to involve themselves in criminal activity? XIII. The Generalizability Problem

a. Anomie theory: This theory cannot be applied to women because women are socialized to be successful in relationships, to get married, and to raise families, not for financial success b. Subculture theories: This theory cannot explain why women who have achieved their relationship goals commit crimes c. Differential association: This theory is better for explaining why females commit less crime than men d. Labeling: The labeling perspective is not an explanation as to why people engage in deviance in the first place, and it lacks an analysis of the structures of power and oppression impinging on women e. Marxism: This theory neglects gender issues, plus, working-class women experience the same capitalist exploitation as men, but they still commit far less crime XIV. The Gender Ratio Problem a. Mainstream feminists have asserted that if females were socialized in the same way as males, and had similar roles and experiences, their rates of criminal offending would be roughly the same. This assertion is denied by the biological sciences, as well as by radical feminists, who view gender difference in behavior as a function of differentially wired brains. XV. The Masculinization and Emancipation Hypothesis: Adler and Simon

a. Freda Adler attributed the rise in female crime rates in the 1960s and 1970s to an increasing number of females adopting male roles, and by doing so increasingly masculinizing their attitudes and behavior (The Masculinization Hypothesis)

b. Rita Simon claimed that increased participation in the workforce affords women greater opportunities to commit crime (The Emancipation Hypothesis). Women could thus commit crime without first undergoing Adlers masculinization of attitudes c. More recently, it has been proposed that the gender ratio exists because the genders differ in exposure to delinquent peers and that males are more influenced by delinquent peers than females, and because of female greater inhibitory morality XVI. Female-Centered Theory: Criminalizing Girls Survival and Victim Precipitated Homicide a. Rather than developing general theories of female crime, feminist theories have developed a series of models cataloging the responses of girls and women to situations more or less specific to their gender that result in the committing specific criminal acts b. Chesney-Lind: Girls victimization and their response to it are shaped by their status in a patriarchal society in which males dominate the family and define their daughters and stepdaughters as sexual property c. Victim-precipitated homicide, which is a homicide in which the murder victim initiates the sequence of events that leads to his or her death XVII. Radical Feminist Explanation a. Radical feminists argue that because the magnitude of the gender gap varies across time and space and yet remains constantly wide at all ties and in all places that biological functions must play a large part

b. The root of gender ratio lies in the fundamental differences between the genders c. Anne Campbell: Staying alive hypothesisevolutionary logic is all about passing on genes that proved useful in the struggle for survival and reproductive success to future generations over the eons of time in which our most human characteristics were being formed d. Because offspring survival is so important to their reproductive success, females evolved a propensity to avoid engaging in behaviors that pose survival risks e. When females engage in crime they almost always do so for instrumental reasons, and their crimes rarely involve risk of physical injury XVIII. Evaluation of Critical Theories a. It is often said that Marxist theory has very little that is unique to add to criminology theory b. Much of Marxist criminology appears to be in a time warp in that it assumes that the conditions prevailing in Marxs time still exist in the same form today in advanced capitalist societies c. Conflict theory does not attempt to explain crime; it simply identifies social conflict as a basic fact of life and a source of discriminatory treatment d. Postmodernism offers no viable alternative except to advance the notion that crime can be abated by changing the way people think and talk about it e. Peacemaking criminologists never offer any notion as to how crime rates can be reduced beyond counseling that we appreciate criminals point of view and not be so punitive

f. As far as the feminist theory, maleness is without doubt the best single predictor of criminal behavior. This leaves feminist theorists without much left to explain in specific female terms about female offending XIX. Policy Prevention: Implications of Critical Theories a. The policy implications of Marxism are to overthrow the capitalist system and crime will be reduced b. Policy recommendations by left realists include community activities, neighborhood watches, community policing, dispute resolution centers, and target hardening c. Conflict theorists favor programs such as minimum wage laws, sharply progressive taxation, a government controlled comprehensive health care system, maternal leave, and national policy of family support as a way of reducing crime d. Feminists argue to reform our patriarchal society as well as push the plight of victims into the light of day Key Terms Bourgeoisie Class struggle Critical criminology Emancipation hypothesis Generalizability problem Gender ration problem Left realist criminology Lumpenproletariat Masulinization hypothesis Peacemaking criminology Postmodernist criminology Primitive rebellion hypothesis Proletariat Restorative justice Staying alive hypothesis

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