CRM 1301 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Consumerism, Insider Trading, Economic Determinism
26 Jun 2018
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LECTURE 5: MARXIST CRIMINOLOGY
KARL MARX (1818-1883): PERSONAL CONTEXT
Everyone is influenced by how they are raised/environment.
Born in a Jewish heritage but converted to Christianity: father did this to protect
his family.
Karl Marx eventually came to reject all forms of religion
oHis friend thought Jesus was a historical myth and was dismissed from
university
oMarx held the same beliefs, he held anti-religious and liberal views that
were extremely controversial at this time
Marginal social location
oWriting and research were a big part of his life
oMany of his ideas involved criticism
oHe was a wandering scholar
oNever held steady employment/had a big income
oHe simply found ways to subsidize his income through his writings
Not concerned with the behaviors of the poor
oWhen people worry about crime they deemed to blame the poor
oMarx was poor and he wasn’t concerned with this.
oHe started to see things in a different light
•He saw the world through a different cognitive lens (he was poor
and knew poor people)
•He gets us to see things in a way that we hadn’t looked at before
•Wants to shift attention to the upper-classes and their role in
criminal activity
SOCIAL CONTEXT
Industrial revolution
Need more people working (even children)
Those who own the factories and those working in the factories
oUrbanization
Unemployment
People move from small towns to big cities
There is a demand for more people to work but at the same
time there isn’t enough work for everybody (high rates of
unemployment
oPoverty
People can’t afford to meet the necessities of life so there are lots
of homelessness, lack of hygiene and spread of disease
Even those lucky enough to be working were working in terrible
conditions (long days + hours, very small unfair pay checks)
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Life at this time was harsh. If you were not part of the laves
(wealthy), you would struggle.
3 classes
oBourgeoisie
Capitalists
Owners
Halves
oProletariat
Large group in society
These individuals sell their labor power within these factories.
oLumpenproletariat
Group of people who are working under the authority of the
bourgeoisie
They were seen to be the marginalized group (unproductive)
because they were not contributing to capitalism.
oMarx believed that the Proletariats needed to come together to fight for
social change against the power of the Bourgeoisies.
Capitalism
oEconomic system of wage-labor and commodity production for sale and
profit
Idea of trying to maximize profit
The owners of these businesses are always focused on
trying to make the most money. They put workers through
horrible working conditions and pay them little wages
They sell their products in America for a high price which
creates a surplus of money.
oBourgeoisie’s constantly competing against each other.
Case of Ford in 1960’s: They wanted to make a compact car and
produced it in half the time expected to beat competitors. In their
pursuit for profit and market domination they found out that there
was a defect with the car (upon impact from behind, it would
explode). They were fully aware and had access to a new design
that would decrease this possibility; however, they chose not to
implement this new design because it would have been too costly.
Many people died/were injured. They put profit ahead of customer
safety. No one went to jail for these deaths.
THE CONFLICT PERSPECTVE
Marx is part of the conflict perspective
Focus on the unequal distribution of power in society
oFor a conflict theorists, conflict is inherited
oBased on race, class, gender etc…
The law in both its codification and its application is not neutral but reflects the
interests/benefits of the powerful of society.
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
oEven though the halves are the much smaller group, according to the
conflict perspective it is this small group that is benefited by the law.
oThe powerful create the laws in their favor in order to protect their own
interests and keep others repressed.
oThe law really tries to keep the powerless at the bottom and the powerful
at the top.
LAW AND THE CONSENSUS PERSPECTIVE
The law is the codification of dominant social values and its application functions
to benefit the majority.
oConsensus perspective would see law as being fair. People in society work
together (general agreement to wrong/right.)
oConflict perspective sees the criminal justice system as unfair and
discriminatory. It is in favour of only the rich and powerful of society.
LEVEL OF ANALYSIS
Macro approach
oKarl Marx adopts the abstract Macro approach.
Looking at societies reaction and not specific individuals.
oFocus on social structures
Not why people commit crime but rather the social structures and
their impact.
Critical theory
oCritical theorists adopt the perspective that the system is broken and needs
changes.
oQuestions existing social arrangements
Rather than accepting things the way they are, it allows us to look
at the world in a much less conservative way
oQuestions traditions
Just because things have been a certain way for so long, why
should we accept it?
•Example: Homosexuality; why have we deemed it this way
for so long?
They are willing to ruffle feathers. They want to look at things
often taken for granted. They step outside the box and look through
a different lens.
QUESTIONS ASKED BY CRITICAL THEORISTS
1. Why are some groups in society more likely to be targeted/arrested and/or
labelled as ‘criminals’?
Social stereotypes
oPolice officers and those in the justice system live in the same
circumstances as us
They are attached to age, gender, ethnicity
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Everyone is influenced by how they are raised/environment. Born in a jewish heritage but converted to christianity: father did this to protect his family. Those who own the factories and those working in the factories: urbanization. People move from small towns to big cities. There is a demand for more people to work but at the same time there isn"t enough work for everybody (high rates of unemployment: poverty. People can"t afford to meet the necessities of life so there are lots of homelessness, lack of hygiene and spread of disease. Even those lucky enough to be working were working in terrible conditions (long days + hours, very small unfair pay checks) If you were not part of the laves (wealthy), you would struggle. These individuals sell their labor power within these factories: lumpenproletariat. Group of people who are working under the authority of the bourgeoisie.
