4.1.4

Alternative Explanations of Crime

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Marxist Explanations of Crime

There are different explanations of crime according to Marxists.

Capitalism

Capitalism

Marxists believe that the structure of society affects people’s behaviour, and this structure is based on conflict.
We live in a capitalist society which the bourgeoisie benefits from and the proletariat are exploited by.
Marxist believes that this eventually leads to crime.

Marxist explanations of crime

Marxist explanations of crime

Law creation:
- Laws are created by the bourgeoisie to serve the interests of the bourgeoisie
Law enforcement:
- Even if laws are created to support everyone, many times the criminal justice system may be biased towards certain groups.

Marxist explanations of crime cont.

Marxist explanations of crime cont.

Self-interest:
- Capitalist society promotes consumerism by influencing people to want material things and to compete in order to get them.
- Those who might be relatively deprived still share these goals and can turn to crime in order to achieve them.

Criticisms of Marxist explanations

Criticisms of Marxist explanations

They ignore other inequalities such as gender and ethnicity and focus too much on class inequalities.
They see people as being too passive, with no free will to decide for themselves; they see them as doomed to commit crime when this isn’t always true.

Feminist Explanations of Crime

According to feminists, societies are patriarchal. This means that mainstream sociologists focus mainly on men. Key study: Carlen P, Women, Crime and Poverty (1988).

Feminists

Feminists

Feminists argue that:
- Women can be offenders.
- Women can be victims.
- Theories that only applied to men in the past now are seen as equally possible to be applicable to women.

Carlen, 1988

Carlen, 1988

Carlen is a feminist.
She used control theory where working-class women have been controlled through the promise of rewards.
- Class deal: offers them consumer goods in return for their wage.
- Gender deal: the breadwinner offers them psychological and material rewards in return for their love and domestic labour.

Carlen cont.

Carlen cont.

If these rewards are not available then they might turn to crime.
She claims that criminal behaviour becomes more likely when social control breaks down.

Criticisms of feminist explanations

Criticisms of feminist explanations

Feminists tend to focus solely on gender inequalities and tend to ignore other inequalities such as ethnicity, class, age.

1

The Sociological Approach

1.1

Introduction to Sociology

1.1.1What is Sociology?1.1.2Culture & Socialisation

1.2

Sociological Approaches

1.2.1Marxism 1.2.2Marxism 2 1.2.3Functionalism 1.2.4Feminism

1.3

The Consensus vs. Conflict Debate

1.3.1The Consensus vs. Conflict Debate 1.3.2End of Topic Test - The Sociological Approach

2

Families

2.1

Functions of Families

2.1.1Functionalist Views on Family 2.1.2Marxist Views on Family 2.1.3Feminist Views on Family

2.2

Family Forms

2.2.1What is a Family?2.2.2Nuclear Family 2.2.3Families in a Global Context 2.2.4The Rapoports & Family Diversity 2.2.5Causes of Family Diversity 2.2.6End of Topic Test - Family Forms

2.3

Conjugal Role Relationships

2.3.1Conjugal Roles

2.4

Changing Relationships Within Families

2.4.1Timeline 2.4.2Domestic Abuse 2.4.3Symmetrical Family

2.5

Criticisms of Families

2.5.1Functionalist Views of Families 2.5.2Marxist Views of Families 2.5.3Feminist Views of Families 2.5.4Declining Marriage Rate 2.5.5End of Topic Test - Criticisms of Families

2.6

Divorce

2.6.1Reasons For Rise in Divorce Rate 2.6.2Consequences of Divorce 2.6.3Functionalist Views 2.6.4Marxist Views 2.6.5Feminist Views 2.6.6End of Topic Test - Divorce

3

Education

3.1

Roles & Functions of Education

3.1.1The Functionalist Approach 3.1.2Evaluating Different Perspectives 3.1.3Types of School 3.1.4Alternative Education 3.1.5State & Private Schools

3.2

Processes Within Schools

3.2.1Internal Processes 3.2.2External Processes

3.3

Educational Achievement

3.3.1Measuring Educational Success 3.3.2Social Class & Education 3.3.3Social Class & External Factors 3.3.4Gender & Education 3.3.5Ethnicity & Education 3.3.6Parental Choice 3.3.7History of UK Education Policy 3.3.8Recent UK Education Policy 3.3.9End of Topic Test - Education

4

Crime & Deviance

4.1

The Social Construction of Crime

4.1.1Defining Crime & Deviance 4.1.2Sociological Explanations of Crime 4.1.3Interactionist Explanations of Crime 4.1.4Alternative Explanations of Crime

4.2

Social Control

4.2.1Informal Social Control 4.2.2Formal Social Control 4.2.3End of Topic Test - Social Construction of Crime

4.3

Criminal & Deviant Behaviour

4.3.1Explanations of Crime 4.3.2Social Class & Crime 4.3.3Gender & Crime 4.3.4Ethnicity & Crime 4.3.5Age & Crime 4.3.6Criminal Responsibility 4.3.7The Prison System 4.3.8Media Reporting of Crime 4.3.9Functionalist Explanations of Crime

4.4

Data on Crime

4.4.1Measuring Crime 4.4.2End of Topic Test - Criminal & Deviant Behaviour

5

Social Stratification

5.1

Social Stratification

5.1.1What is Social Stratification?5.1.2Functionalism 5.1.3Socio-Economic Class 5.1.4Socio-Economic Class 2 5.1.5Life Chances 5.1.6The Affluent Worker 5.1.7End of Topic Test - Social Stratifictaion

5.2

Poverty as a Social Issue

5.2.1Defining Poverty 5.2.2Factors Affecting Poverty 5.2.3Explanations of Poverty 5.2.4Impact of Globalisation 5.2.5End of Topic Test - Poverty as a Social Issue

5.3

Power & Authority

5.3.1Weber 5.3.2Sociological Perspectives 5.3.3Power Relationships 5.3.4End of Topic Test - Power & Authority

6

Sociological Research Methods

6.1

Research Methods

6.1.1Research Design 6.1.2The Scientific Method 6.1.3Other Considerations 6.1.4Primary Sources 6.1.5Secondary Sources 6.1.6Surveys 6.1.7Sampling 6.1.8Questionnaires 6.1.9Interviews 6.1.10Observation 6.1.11Statistics 6.1.12Case Studies 6.1.13Longitudinal Studies 6.1.14Ethnography 6.1.15Experiments 6.1.16Small Scale Research 6.1.17End of Topic Test - Research Methods

Jump to other topics

1

The Sociological Approach

1.1

Introduction to Sociology

1.1.1What is Sociology?1.1.2Culture & Socialisation

1.2

Sociological Approaches

1.2.1Marxism 1.2.2Marxism 2 1.2.3Functionalism 1.2.4Feminism

1.3

The Consensus vs. Conflict Debate

1.3.1The Consensus vs. Conflict Debate 1.3.2End of Topic Test - The Sociological Approach

2

Families

2.1

Functions of Families

2.1.1Functionalist Views on Family 2.1.2Marxist Views on Family 2.1.3Feminist Views on Family

2.2

Family Forms

2.2.1What is a Family?2.2.2Nuclear Family 2.2.3Families in a Global Context 2.2.4The Rapoports & Family Diversity 2.2.5Causes of Family Diversity 2.2.6End of Topic Test - Family Forms

2.3

Conjugal Role Relationships

2.3.1Conjugal Roles

2.4

Changing Relationships Within Families

2.4.1Timeline 2.4.2Domestic Abuse 2.4.3Symmetrical Family

2.5

Criticisms of Families

2.5.1Functionalist Views of Families 2.5.2Marxist Views of Families 2.5.3Feminist Views of Families 2.5.4Declining Marriage Rate 2.5.5End of Topic Test - Criticisms of Families

2.6

Divorce

2.6.1Reasons For Rise in Divorce Rate 2.6.2Consequences of Divorce 2.6.3Functionalist Views 2.6.4Marxist Views 2.6.5Feminist Views 2.6.6End of Topic Test - Divorce

3

Education

3.1

Roles & Functions of Education

3.1.1The Functionalist Approach 3.1.2Evaluating Different Perspectives 3.1.3Types of School 3.1.4Alternative Education 3.1.5State & Private Schools

3.2

Processes Within Schools

3.2.1Internal Processes 3.2.2External Processes

3.3

Educational Achievement

3.3.1Measuring Educational Success 3.3.2Social Class & Education 3.3.3Social Class & External Factors 3.3.4Gender & Education 3.3.5Ethnicity & Education 3.3.6Parental Choice 3.3.7History of UK Education Policy 3.3.8Recent UK Education Policy 3.3.9End of Topic Test - Education

4

Crime & Deviance

4.1

The Social Construction of Crime

4.1.1Defining Crime & Deviance 4.1.2Sociological Explanations of Crime 4.1.3Interactionist Explanations of Crime 4.1.4Alternative Explanations of Crime

4.2

Social Control

4.2.1Informal Social Control 4.2.2Formal Social Control 4.2.3End of Topic Test - Social Construction of Crime

4.3

Criminal & Deviant Behaviour

4.3.1Explanations of Crime 4.3.2Social Class & Crime 4.3.3Gender & Crime 4.3.4Ethnicity & Crime 4.3.5Age & Crime 4.3.6Criminal Responsibility 4.3.7The Prison System 4.3.8Media Reporting of Crime 4.3.9Functionalist Explanations of Crime

4.4

Data on Crime

4.4.1Measuring Crime 4.4.2End of Topic Test - Criminal & Deviant Behaviour

5

Social Stratification

5.1

Social Stratification

5.1.1What is Social Stratification?5.1.2Functionalism 5.1.3Socio-Economic Class 5.1.4Socio-Economic Class 2 5.1.5Life Chances 5.1.6The Affluent Worker 5.1.7End of Topic Test - Social Stratifictaion

5.2

Poverty as a Social Issue

5.2.1Defining Poverty 5.2.2Factors Affecting Poverty 5.2.3Explanations of Poverty 5.2.4Impact of Globalisation 5.2.5End of Topic Test - Poverty as a Social Issue

5.3

Power & Authority

5.3.1Weber 5.3.2Sociological Perspectives 5.3.3Power Relationships 5.3.4End of Topic Test - Power & Authority

6

Sociological Research Methods

6.1

Research Methods

6.1.1Research Design 6.1.2The Scientific Method 6.1.3Other Considerations 6.1.4Primary Sources 6.1.5Secondary Sources 6.1.6Surveys 6.1.7Sampling 6.1.8Questionnaires 6.1.9Interviews 6.1.10Observation 6.1.11Statistics 6.1.12Case Studies 6.1.13Longitudinal Studies 6.1.14Ethnography 6.1.15Experiments 6.1.16Small Scale Research 6.1.17End of Topic Test - Research Methods

Practice questions on Alternative Explanations of Crime

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1
Feminist arguments about crime:Fill in the list
2
Which feminist sociologist studied control theory in 1988?Multiple choice

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Interactionist Explanations of Crime

Informal Social Control