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Chapter Eight
Conflict Theory
Criminology 9th edition
Larry J. Siegel
© 2003 Wadsworth Publishing Co.
Schools of Thought
CONFLICT
Criminologists
who view crime as
a function of social
conflict and economic
rivalry are aligned
with a number of
schools of thought,
referred to as:
CRITICAL
MARXIST
RADICAL
The Branches of Social Conflict Theory
The goal of social conflict theorists is to explain
crime within economic and social contexts and to
express the connections among social class, crime
and social control. Crime is an outcome of class
struggle. Issues of concern to them include:

The role government plays in creating a
criminogenic environment.

The relationship of personal or group power in
controlling and shaping the criminal law.

The role of bias in the operations of the justice
system.

The relationship between a capitalist freeenterprise economy and crime rates.
Marxist View of Class
PROFITS
WAGES
Workers
(Proletariat)
Owners of
Production
(Capitalist
Bourgeoisie)
The Non-Productive
(Lumpen Proletariat)
Willem Bonger (1876-1940)

It is not the absolute amount of wealth that affects crime but its
distribution.

If wealth is unequally distributed and people believe wealth
means superiority, then the inferior will be crime-prone.

The economic system will intensify personal disadvantages and
will increase propensity to commit crime.

Crime will disappear if society progresses from competitive
capitalism, to monopoly capitalism.
Dahrendorf’s Unified Conflict
Theory of Human Behavior.
Every society is at every point
subject to processes of
change; social change is
everywhere.
Every society displays at
every point dissent and
conflict; social conflict is
everywhere.
Every element in a society
renders a contribution
to its disintegration
and change.
Every society is based on
the coercion of some
of its members by
others.
The Social Reality of Crime
The social reality of
crime is constructed
by the formulation
and application of
criminal definitions,
the development of
behavior patterns to
criminal definitions,
and the
construction of
criminal
conceptions.
Questions
According to Quinney, what factors
are criminal definitions based on?
What are the “propositions”
of the Social Reality of Crime?
Conflict Theory
STRENGTHS
Accounts for class differentials in the crime rate.
Shows how class conflict influences behavior.
MAJOR PREMISE
Crime is a function of class conflict. The definition
of the law is controlled by people who hold social
and political power.
Questions
Could conflict theory explain the relationship of
race/ethnicity and crime as well as class?
If so, in what way?
Would all racial groups be
affected the same?
Conflict Theory versus
Consensus Theory

Conflict Theory: Criminal law is a weapon utilized by
the powerful to maintain dominance. Crime is a
means to fight back against those in power.

Consensus Theory: Criminal law reflects the values
of the majority which equal a just society. Crime,
therefore, violates the rights of others.
Marxist Theory
MAJOR PREMISE
The capitalist means of production creates class
conflict. Crime is a rebellion of the lower class. The
criminal justice system is an agent of class warfare.
STRENGTHS
Accounts for the associations between economic
structure and crime rates.
Questions
What is Instrumental Marxism?
What is Integrative-Constitutive Theory?
What is Structural Marxism?
Instrumental Marxist Theory
MAJOR PREMISE
Criminals are revolutionaries.
The real crime is sexism, racism,
and profiteering.
STRENGTHS
Broadens the definition of crime
and demystifies or explains
the historical development of law.
Structural Marxist Theory
MAJOR PREMISE
The law is designed to
sustain the capitalist
economic system.
STRENGTHS
Explains the existence of
white-collar crime and business
control laws.
Critiques of Marxist Criminology

Most theft is for luxury, not survival.

Marxists unfairly neglect the efforts of the capitalist system to
regulate itself.

Marxists refuse to address the problems and conflicts that exist
in socialist countries.

Marxists fail to explain why some highly capitalist countries,
such a Japan, have extremely low crime rates.

Marists are too quick to blame for every human vice without
adequate explanation or regard for other social and
environmental factors.
Questions
How do you think Marx would respond today
about the prosperity enjoyed by the
working class in
industrialized societies?
What is radical feminism?
Power Control Theory
A Radical Feminist Theory
(John Hagan)

Crime and delinquency rates are a function of:
Class Position (Power)
Family Function (Control)

Parents’ work experiences and class position influence the
criminality of their children.

In paternalistic families, male siblings exhibit a higher degree
of delinquent behavior than their sisters.

In egalitarian families, daughters law-violating behaviors mirror
their brothers’.
Social Conflict Theories:
Deconstructionism
(Postmodernists)
MAJOR PREMISE
Language controls the meaning and use of the law.
STRENGTHS
Provides a critical analysis of meaning.
Questions
What is restorative justice?
and,
How does restorative justice address social conflict
theory and public policy?
Social Conflict Theories:
Peacemaking – Restorative Justice
MAJOR PREMISE
Peace and humanism can reduce crime;
conflict resolution strategies can work.
STRENGTHS
Offers a new approach to crime control
through mediation.
Question
What are victim concerns
about restorative justice?
Give examples.