Schools of Thought in the Conflict Perspective

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Schools of Thought in the Conflict Perspective
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The goal of social conflict theorists is to
explain deviance within economic and social
contexts and to express the connections among
social class, crime and social control. 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
• Power and ControlDeviance as a Political Process
• Focus Creation and Enforcement of Law

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Marxist View of Class
PROFITS WAGES
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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

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Dahrendorfs unified conflict theory of human
behavior.
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The Social Reality of Crime

• Instrumental Marxism
• Law is a tool for the Ruling Class
• Control Through a Variety of Institutions Run by
  and for the Elite
• Typical focus of the Sociology of Deviance is
  focused on the lower class

Richard Quinney, 1970
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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.
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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.
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Instrumental Marxist Theory
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Structural Marxist Theory
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Radical Feminist Theory
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Social Conflict TheoriesCritique by Goode
-Not all conflict represents social or economic
class -Crime continues to exist is socialist
countries -Arrest and punishment happens in both
capitalist and socialist countries