CRCJ 1000 Lecture Notes - Lecture 15: National Organization For The Reform Of Marijuana Laws, Cultural Conflict, Femicide
23 Jun 2019
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Assume conflict is a fundamental aspect of social life (various social groups, with their own values, compete for power/ wealth/recognition) Question the assumption that laws represent the interests of society as a whole. Formal agencies of social control coerce the powerless to comply with the rules. The law is a tool of powerful groups. Laws are a political statement / crime is a political definition. Emphasis on political and economical structures (macro theory) Emphasize the crime and not the criminal (like classical school of criminology) But attempt to find causes of crime (like positivist theories) However explanation is focused on political and economic conditions of life. Conduct norms = expectations for human behaviour. Cultural conflict = when conduct norms clash between cultures. Criminal norms = conduct norms codified into law; represent values of dominant group. Term is divisive and dangerous encourages racism / discrimination. Argument that honour killings are distinct from domestic violence or crimes of passion.
