Examine the Marxists explanation of crime and deviance (12 marks)
Examine the Marxists explanation of crime and deviance (12 marks) The term criminogenic refers to a system, situation or place which is likely to cause criminal behaviour. Marxists argue that the capitalism is criminogenic as its very nature causes people to commit crimes. This is due to the inequalities created by capitalism – the bourgeoisie and the proletariats. The bourgeoisie use a variety of techniques and methods to ensure that they remain the ruling class, including exploiting the working class. The working class face few chances to achieve social mobility due to a variety of factors including, material deprivation, poverty, labelling, RSAs such as the police and a false consciousness. All these factors therefore prevent the working class from achieving socially approved goals through legitimate means, ultimately leading to crimes. Poverty may mean that crime is the only way the working class can survive; this leaves them with few other alternatives other than committing utilitarian crimes such as robbery and fraud. However, it can be argued that the Marxist explanation on crime and deviance is too deterministic and over predicts the about of crime in the working class as not all poor people commit crimes, despite the pressures of poverty. One way in which capitalism is criminogenic is through the way society advertises consumer goods - it gives the working class
Using Item A and elsewhere, assess different sociological explanations of suicide
Sunday, 20 April 2014 Liam Curran Year 13 . Using Item A and elsewhere, assess different sociological explanations of suicide Durkheim was the first to study the social causes, or facts that he believed led to suicide, and these social facts are what shape humans’ behaviour and are external to the individual. He did recognise that some were naturally predisposed to committing suicide, but he argue that it was largely a social problem. However, many interpretevists contest Durkheim’s findings, arguing that the meaning needs to be investigated to find the causes of a suicide rather than a positivist approach, relying on scientific methods. Durkheim came up with his own typology of suicide, Egoistic, anomic, fatalistic and altruistic. Egoistic is where there is too little social integration, and is the most common type of suicide, because it happens when there is very little social cohesion among society’s members, and has been used to explain why the rates of suicide are lower among Catholics than protestants, because there are stricter rules in Catholicism meaning there are solid boundaries to which people adhere too and can stay close, whereas Protestantism is a lot more lenient with its rules meaning there is little cohesion among members where beliefs differ. Altruistic suicide is where there is too much social integration, meaning there is too much
Evaluate the contribution of Marxist theories to our understanding of the role and functions of religion in the world today.
Sunday, 20 April 2014 Liam Curran Year 13 . Evaluate the contribution of Marxist theories to our understanding of the role and functions of religion in the world today. We tend to see Marxists as against the idea of religion, on the grounds that it legitimates poverty among the lower classes, to be exploited by the capitalists, and that religion is used as a weapon to legitimate class equality also, however, has been criticised by functionalists and feminists alike on the grounds it ignore many positive functions of society, and this is what many Neo-Marxists have come to recognise. Firstly, Marx was the one who argued that religion was used to legitimate class inequality, arguing that religion is the product of alienation, and alienation occurs when a crafter becomes separated or loses control over what they have created, and feelings of a loss of identity performing the same menial tasks every day. Marx argued that alienation exists in all societies, but is the most extreme under capitalism when the working class are exploited for their labour. Religion is then introduced to numb the pain of the alienation, and Marx said that religion is the ‘opium of the people’, just as opiates mask pain, rather than treat the cause. Religion does the same; the function of religion is to mask the pain of alienation and not treat the cause of their earthly misery, and
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Outline and assess feminist explanations for the relationship between gender and crime [50]
Outline and assess feminist explanations for the relationship between gender and crime [50] There is a very clear relationship between gender and crime in terms of official statistics. Men appear about six or seven times more likely to offend than women. In self-report studies the figures are closer but men are still in the majority. Even when we look at victims of crime it appears that men are more likely to be victims of crime than women. So what have feminists argued about these patterns? The feminist Heidensohn believes that the patterns above have meant that women have been ignored by most criminology until recently. She accuses criminology of being ‘malestream’ for a number of reasons. The first is that the majority of offenders are male and therefore it is easy to study the majority rather than the minority. Secondly the majority of sociologists seem to be male and therefore their work may reflect a male and biased viewpoint. However this bias increases when you consider that the bulk of sociological research that is published concerns the lives of the exciting – young males. And finally Heidensohn describes most theories as ‘gender blind’ as the sociologists do not think about how their theory could be applied to females, ignoring the female viewpoint. However, over recent years feminists have become very influential in criminology and some of their views
Ted Bundy
A personality disorder is another cause of the career criminal. "People with personality disorders are often involved in repeated episodes of disruptive or difficult behavior. Others often consider these people overbearing, dramatic, or even obnoxious" (AGS). Ted Bundy is a narcissistic and a sociopath. Ted Bundy could be considered narcissist. He exposes a few of the Narcissistic diagnostic features in his personality. These features are as follows: Narcissistic personality disorder is a condition characterized by an inflated sense of self-importance, need for admiration, extreme self-involvement, and lack of empathy for others. Individuals with this disorder are usually arrogantly self-assured and confident. They expect to be noticed as superior. Many highly successful individuals might be considered narcissistic. However, this disorder is only diagnosed when these behaviors become persistent and very disabling or distressing. (Long). After Stephanie Brooks left Ted Bundy when she graduated, he showed a number of these disorder features. He shows a lot of self-importance when he goes back to University of Washington and throws himself into his studies to get outstanding grades. He also shows a need for admiration by getting himself into the upper rings of society by becoming a campaigner. He also shows features of an extended definition by another source that
Jack the Ripper - Describe law and order in London in the late 19th century.
Jack the Ripper: Coursework Assignment One: Describe law and order in London in the late 19th century. In this assignment I intend to describe the situation of law and order in the late 19th century and analyzing it under 4 sections: The establishment of the police, Public perceptions, Crime in London and the modernization of the force. The establishment of the police The British police force came about in the nineteenth century. In 1800 Britain had two Police forces, The Bow Street Runners and the Thames Valley Police. The main turning point for policing in Britain was the establishment of the Metropolitan Police by Sir Robert Peel in 1829. The Metropolitan Police force was set up to carry out the functions of both the watchmen and the special constables. Watchmen patrolled the streets and kept an eye for trouble whereas Special Constables were called for large disturbances such as riots. Public perceptions The public's perception of the police was mixed. Many people saw the police as defenders of order and felt safer in their hands. However, since the police were there to deal with major disturbances as well as stopping disorderly behaviour, they developed a reputation for brutality and violence. The view of the police as 'friendly bobbies' was not shared throughout many working class districts in London. Attacks and murder of the police whilst on the beat was not
Is the judicial system racist?
Is The Judicial System Racist? Aims I am going to answer the question 'Is the Judicial System Racist' . I aim to find out the public's view on crime and which ethnic groups are believed to cause the most and why and if & how the stereotype affects the ethnic group. 2. I aim to find out if the outside and inside prison populations are proportional for the ethnic groups. 3. I aim to find out if Society's Racial Stereotypes affect the police force and jury's judgement. I chose this topic because I thought it would be an interesting to find out the publics view on crime, and their view on other members of the public's view on crime. I also thought there would be a lot of information I could access the statistics I needed on the web. The statistics would be up to date, official and clear as they would probably be on the governments website. Introduction In Britain today there are 55 million people, of this 5% are Afro Caribbean, and 2% are Asian. This would mean the prison population should be 2% Asian, and 5% Afro Caribbean, but it is not, the actual figures are 13% Afro Caribbean and 7% Asian. Why is the prison population not a reflection of the ethnicity of Britain? Is it because of society, the police, or the actual ethnic group? To find out what is the cause, I will carry out research of my own and use previously obtained figures. Method I will find my
Assess the Usefulness of Official Crime Statistics to a Sociological Understanding of Crime
Assess the Usefulness of Official Crime Statistics to a sociological Understanding of Crime. (40 marks) The Government publishes official statistics on crime in Britain annually. The main source of these statistics are gathered from recorded crimes by the police and courts and through the British Crime Survey (BSC) which is a large-scale victim survey conducted annually by the Home Office. The combination of both of these statistics should provide a picture of the full extent of crime in Britain, however, sociologists believe there are a number of factors that influence these figures and that these official statistics do not reflect a true representation of crime in Britain today. We shall explore these factors further to assess whether the official statistics do serve a purpose in the understanding of crime. Official crime statistics have many advantages, and can be used in the understanding of crime to some extent. They are easily available, as they are published by the government annually. Their regularity allows comparison and contrast over months and years. Official crime statistics are also essential in some research as they are the only data available on the issue. However there are many factors which distort crime statistics and make them unreliable and not useful to a sociological understanding crime. The public distorts crime statistics, as only 90% of crimes
Assess the view that crime and deviance is the result of labelling, the media and public opinion
Assess the view that crime and deviance is the result of labelling, the media and public opinion Crime is any action which breaks the laws of society, for example, murder, rape and theft. Laws are created to protect society while agencies of social control like the police enforce it. Deviance is a much broader term defined as behaviour which moves away from conventional norms and values, and not all deviant behaviour is criminal such as burping in public, and not all crimes are seen as deviant such as speeding. In this essay I will be looking into crime and deviance being the result of labelling, the media and public opinion. I will be concentrating on arguments for and against media and public opinion. In arguments for I will be discussing how the interactionist approach is different, Howard Becker’s labelling theory, deviancy amplification spiral and moral panics. In arguments against I will be looking at Robert Merton’s strain theory, subcultural explanations such as Cohen and Miller and finally looking at David Matza and his delinquency and drift theory. Towards the end of the essay it will come apparent that crime and deviance is the result of labelling, the media and public opinion. Although there is lots of evidence against the media and public opinion, Howard Becker’s labelling theory explains the media and public opinion well. Interactionist theories
Assess the view that crime is functional, inevitable and normal
Assess the view that crime is functional, inevitable and normal (33 marks) Within the sociological perspectives of crime and deviance, there is one particular approach which argues that crime is functional, inevitable and normal. This sociological perspective, Functionalism, consists of Emile Durkheim's work on crime and deviance. His main argument was that 'crime is normal' and that it is 'an integral part of all healthy societies.' This perspective views crime and deviance as an inevitable feature of all societies which is universal. However, Durkheim did argue that too much crime can lead to the destabilisation of society. Durkheim identified three positive aspects of crime which make it a functional component of society. He done this through magnifying the positive impacts it can have on social cohesion which refers to the invisible bonds which bring people together within a society. There were three main positive aspects which he accentuated as they made crime and deviance functional. These were 'reaffirming the boundaries,' 'changing values' and 'social cohesion.' The first, reaffirming the boundaries, refers to situations where crime has already occurred. When the criminal is taken to court, the public outcry which follows verifies the boundaries. This can be seen particularly in countries such as Saudi Arabia, where public hangings and executions take place. The
