Transcript CRJ270 - Chapter 9

Introduction to Criminology
CRJ 270
Instructor: Jorge Pierrott
Criminology Today, 7th Edition
Frank Schmalleger
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Criminology Today
AN INTEGRATIVE INTRODUCTION
SEVENTH EDITION
CHAPTER
9
Social Conflict
Theories
Criminology Today, 7th Edition
Frank Schmalleger
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Chapter Objectives
After reading this chapter, students should be able
to answer the following questions:
• What three analytical perspectives on law and
social order are described in this chapter?
• What are the central tenants of radical
criminology?
• What five emerging conflict theories discussed in
this chapter purport to explain crime and
criminality?
• What are the crime-control implications of social
conflict theories?
Criminology Today, 7th Edition
Frank Schmalleger
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Occupy Wall Street Movement!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-p3zt8hP-g
• Social inequality – 99%s
• What can we do in the Criminal Justice system to
address economic inequality?
• This existed throughout parts of Europe during the
1800’s.
• Important thinkers such as Karl Marx, Friedrich
Engels addressed these issues.
• 1848 – The Communist Manifesto was drafted.
• Communism would replace capitalism.
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Law and Social Order Perspectives
• Various events in the 20th century conspired
to change laws and create new kinds of
criminal activity.
• An understanding of the interplay between
law and social order is critical to any study of
social change and of theories of criminology
that emphasize the role of social conflict as it
underlies criminality.
The Consensus Perspective
• Most members of society agree about
what is right and wrong and work
together toward a common vision of
the greater good.
continued on next slide
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The Consensus Perspective
• Key principles
 Most members of society believe in the
existence of core values.
 Laws reflect the collective will of the
people.
 Law serves all people equally.
 Law violators represent a unique
subgroup with distinguishing features.
The Pluralist Perspective
• Society consists of many and diverse
social groups.
• Each group has its own values, beliefs
and interests.
• A general agreement exists in reference
to the usefulness of laws as a
mechanism for dispute resolution
continued on next slide
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The Pluralist Perspective
• The legal system is value neutral
• The legal system is concerned with the
best interests of society
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The Conflict Perspective
• Conflict is a fundamental aspect of
social life – can never be fully resolved
• Karl Marx
 Two fundamental social classes in
capitalist society
• Bourgeoisie – “Haves”
• Proletariat – “Have nots”
 Struggle between classes is inevitable
continued on next slide
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The Conflict Perspective
• Society is made up of diverse social
groups
• Each group holds to differing definitions
of right and wrong
• Conflict between groups is unavoidable
• The fundamental nature of group
conflict centers on the exercise of
political power
continued on next slide
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The Conflict Perspective
• Law is a tool of power and furthers the
interests of those powerful enough to
make it.
• Those in power are inevitably
interested in maintaining their power.
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Key Conflict Thinkers
• George Vold
 crime is a product of political conflict
between groups
• Ralf Dahrendorf
 power and authority lead to conflict,
which leads to change
• Austin Turk
 crime is the natural consequence of
intergroup struggles
Radical Criminology
• The causes of crime are rooted in social
conditions empowering the wealthy and
politically organized and
disenfranchising those less fortunate
Radical Criminology
• Outgrowth of three historical circumstances
 Writings of 19th century social utopians
 Rise of conflict theory in social sciences
 Radicalization of American academia in
1960s and 1970s
• Contemporary radical criminology suggests
that the causes of crime are rooted in social
conditions empowering the wealthy and
politically well-organized while
disenfranchising the less fortunate
Chambliss and Seidman
• The conditions of one's life affect one's
values and norms.
 Dominant groups enforce laws in order
to guarantee dominance.
• Complex societies are composed of
highly disparate and conflicting sets of
norms.
 Middle class and upper class criminals
are less likely to be apprehended.
Chambliss and Seidman
• The probability of a given group having
its particular normative system
embodied in law is not equally
distributed but is related to the group's
political and economic position
• The higher the group's political or
economic position, the greater the
probability that its views will be
reflected in laws
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Radical Criminology
• Richard Quinney
 Almost all crimes committed by the
lower classes are necessary for the
survival of individual members
 Crime is inevitable under capitalist
conditions
 The solution is the development of a
socialist society
continued on next slide
Radical Criminology
• Contemporary radical criminology
emphasizes social class differences as a
factor in the existing propensity toward
criminality.
• Structural Marxism sees capitalism as a
self-maintaining system in which the law
and justice systems work to perpetuate the
existing system of power relationships.
• Instrumental Marxism sees the criminal law
and justice system as tools used by the
powerful to control the poor.
continued on next slide
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Radical Criminology
• Structural Marxism
 Capitalism is a self-maintaining system
in which the law and the justice system
work to perpetuate the existing system
of power relationships
• Instrumental Marxism
 The criminal law and the justice system
are tools that the powerful use to
control the poor and to keep them
disenfranchised
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Critical Criminology
• Critical criminology forces an inquiry
into how social relations lead to crime.
• A proactive call for a radical change in
the social conditions that lead to crime
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Radical-Critical Criminology and
Policy Issues
• Most radical-critical criminologists focus
on promoting a gradual transition to
socialism
• Middle-range policy alternatives
emphasize bringing about a justice
system that is more fair and closer to
the radical ideal.
• Elliott Currie
continued on next slide
Radical-Critical Criminology and
Policy Issues
• Emphasis on creating economic equality or
employment opportunities to combat crime.
• Middle-range policy alternatives include:





Equal justice in the bail system,
Abolishing mandatory sentences,
Prosecuting corporate crimes,
Reducing prison overcrowding,
Increasing equality within criminal justice system
employment, etc.
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Critique of Radical-Critical
Criminology
• Emphasizes methods of social change at
the expense of well-developed theory.
• Fails to recognize the fair degree of
consensus about the nature of crime.
• Marxist thinkers seem to confuse issues
of personal politics with social reality.
• Does not appreciate the many problems
contributing to crime.
continued on next slide
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Critique of Radical-Critical
Criminology
• Does not explain low crime rates in
some capitalist countries
• Does not address the problems of
communist countries with poor records
of human rights
• May resemble a religion more than a
science
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Left Realist Criminology
• Faults radical-critical criminologists for
romanticizing street crime and criminals
• Shifts focus to assessment of crime and
the needs of victims
• Radical ideas must be translated into
realistic social policies.
 Instead of seeing the police as oppressors
working on behalf of the state, people
should work with police to correct
problems.
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Critique of Left-Realist Criminology
• More an ideological emphasis than a
theory
• Rarely offers new testable propositions
or hypotheses
• Crime control approaches focus on
needs of victimized
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Feminist Criminology
• Redirects criminologists' thinking to
include gender awareness
• Feminism is a way of seeing the world
 Views gender in terms of power
relationships
 Consequences of sexism and unequal
gender-based power distribution have
affected fundamental aspects of social
roles and personal experiences
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Strands of Feminist Thought
• Liberal feminism
 Gender role socialization is the primary
source of women's oppression
 Eliminating traditional divisions of labor
and power between the sexes will
eliminate inequality and promote social
harmony
continued on next slide
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Strands of Feminist Thought
• Radical feminism
 Patriarchy is the cause of women's
oppression
 Eliminating male domination should
reduce female crime rates reduce male
violence against women
continued on next slide
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Strands of Feminist Thought
• Marxist feminism
 Oppression of women caused by their
subordinate working-class status in
capitalist societies
• Social feminism
 Sees gender oppression as a
consequence of the interaction between
the economic structure of society and
gender-based roles
continued on next slide
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Strands of Feminist Thought
• Postmodern feminism
 Questions social construction of
concepts like justice and crime
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Proponents of Feminist
Criminology
• Patriarchy
 male dominance
• Freda Adler and Rita Simon
 Explain divergences in crime rates by
gender as due primarily to socialization
(not biology)
 Said as gender equality increased, the
criminal behavior of men and women
would become more similar
continued on next slide
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Proponents of Feminist
Criminology
• Freda Adler and Rita Simon
 Despite increased gender equality in the
past 30 years, this has not happened
continued on next slide
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Proponents of Feminist
Criminology
• Freda Adler and Rita J. Simon
 Gender differences in crime due to
socialization
 Expected male and female criminality
would become more similar as gender
equality increased
continued on next slide
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Proponents of Feminist
Criminology
• Carol Smart
 Sensitized criminologists to sexist
traditions in the field
 Work led to recognition of women's
issues
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Elements of Feminist Thought
• Gender is a social, historical, and
cultural product
• Gender and gender relations order
social life and social institutions in
fundamental ways
• Gender relations and constructs of
masculinity and femininity are not
symmetrical
continued on next slide
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Elements of Feminist Thought
• Systems of knowledge reflect men's
views of the natural and social world;
the production of knowledge is
gendered
• Women should be at the center, not the
periphery, of intellectual inquiry
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Contributions of Feminist
Scholarship
• Focus on gender as a central organizing
principle of contemporary life
• Importance of power in shaping social
relationships
• Sensitivity to how social context shapes
relationships
continued on next slide
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Contributions of Feminist
Scholarship
• Recognition that social reality must be
understood as a process
• A commitment to social change as a
crucial part of feminist scholarship and
practice
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Proponents of Feminist
Criminology
• Power-control theory – John Hagan
 Power relations in society reflected at
home
 Family class structure shapes social
reproduction of gender relations
continued on next slide
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Proponents of Feminist
Criminology
• Feminist thinkers suggest social policies
such as increasing controls over male
violence toward women, creating
alternatives for abused women, and the
protection of children
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Critique of Feminist Criminology
• It may be a theory in formation
• Does not explain why the gender gap in
crime still exists
• Feminist criminology is impossible
because neither feminism nor
criminology meet the strict
requirements of formal theory building
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Postmodern Criminology
• Applies understandings of social change
inherent in postmodern philosophy to
criminological theorizing and crime
control
• Claim past approaches have failed to
assess the true causes of crime or offer
workable crime control solutions
continued on next slide
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Postmodern Criminology
• Much postmodern criminology is
deconstructionist - works toward
replacing existing perspectives with
ones more relevant to the postmodern
era
continued on next slide
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Postmodern Criminology
• Constitutive criminology (Henry and
Milovanovic)
 Crime and crime control are
constructions produced through a social
process
 People shape and are shaped by their
society
continued on next slide
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Postmodern Criminology
• Semiotics (study of signs and symbols)
 May be applied to notion of crime
 Crime should be understood as an
integral part of society not as something
separate from it
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Critique of Postmodern
Criminology
• The terminology is vaguely defined; the
approaches are incoherent and
confusing
• Postmodernism challenges traditional
theories but fails to offer feasible
alternatives
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Peacemaking Criminology
• Suggests that citizens and social
control agencies need to work together
to alleviate social problems and reduce
crime
• The problem of crime control is not
“how to stop crime” but “how to make
peace”
continued on next slide
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Peacemaking Criminology
• Emphasizes rising above personal
dichotomies to end the political and
ideological divisiveness in society
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Restorative Justice
• Achieve effective crime control through
a peace model based on cooperation,
not retribution
• Dispute resolution programs based on
participatory justice
• Emphasize remedies and restoration
rather than prison, punishment, victim
neglect
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Critique of Peacemaking
Criminology
• Criticisms
 Is naive and utopian
 Fails to recognize the realities of crime
control and law enforcement
• Peacemaking criminology envisions
positive change on the social and
institutional level
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Moral Time
• Conflict caused by the movement of
social time
• Social time = movement in social
space, changes in the amount of
intimacy, inequality, diversity
• Static conditions cannot cause crime
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Convict Criminology
• Body of writings by convicted felons
and ex-inmates who have obtained
academic credentials or who are
associated with credentialled others
• Largely issues-based and personal
• Primary method used is based in
ethnography
• Provides recommendations for
improving the justice system
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Critique of Convict Criminology
• Critics suggest that having been in
prison distorts the criminologist's view
of the field, rather than enhancing it
• Argue that personal experience rarely
gives anyone the entire picture need to
understand a phenomenon
• Focusing on injustices of prison life may
keep one from appreciating the
reformative effects of punishment
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Policy Implications of Social
Conflict Theories
• Bringing about social change and
redistributing the wealth in society will
reduce crime rates
• Radical–Marxists
 replace existing capitalist system with a
socialist economic structure
• Peacemaking criminology
 use of conflict resolution
continued on next slide
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Policy Implications of Social
Conflict Theories
• Left-realism and feminist criminology
offer a variety of solutions ranging from
reducing paternalism to recognizing the
consequences of crime to victims
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