Social Conflict Theory

The theory of critical criminology looks to examine how “the criminal justice process contributes to structural inequalities

Inciardi proclaimed that critical criminology is “different perceptions that challenge assumptions of mainstream: espoused by a group of U.S. thinkers who emerged in the sixties and seventies and who have been variously labeled as representatives of conflict, radical, critical, or Marxist criminology and etc.” (as cited in Hagen, 2013, p. 184). Critical criminology main focus is to challenge the traditional assumptions and provide alternative approaches to understanding crimes and justice opposed to the theory of mainstream criminology. According to Hagan (2013), “critical criminology consists of five types of theoretical approach: the labeling perspective, conflict theory, and the feminist, new critical and radical (Marxist) viewpoints” (p. 184). The assumptions are difference or rejection to that of mainstream criminology; for example: emphasizing on the social control machinery and instead of criminal behavior (Hagan, 183). Critical criminology view crime and criminal law as the field to unified and laid emphasis on addressing the gaps between different levels of power, chain in command, and inequalities (races and culture) in reference to crime types of crime committed and justice which includes ramification of the deeds under the laws and nature our society.

Orthodox criminology refers to the how criminologists accept the states ideas of crime without thinking of power relations. This thinking is shared by everyone and becomes a universal idea and these ideas are in the interests of everyone. However, certain groups of individuals are targeted and blamed for crimes based on their class, race, gender, sexuality and more. The theory of Critical criminology as defined in Primer in Radical Criminology is defined as “a way of doing criminology that frames the problem of crime in terms of the sociological forces of class, race, gender, culture, and history.”(1) In other words it focuses on challenging the state on their traditional, “normal” views of crime by looking at other factors. Three differences between critical and orthodox criminologists are the following. The first difference is that critical criminologists seek to find the root of what is behind the crime problem. (14) Rather than saying that the homicide was committed because he was an African American male who is poor (orthodox criminology), critical criminologists look at a deeper sociological explanation, like the community he grew up in has high rates for violence. A second difference is that radical criminologists understand that there is no fixed definition of crime and that there is more than one

David Gordon argues that crime is an inevitable product of capitalism and the inequality that it generates. He argues that inequalities in wealth and income create poverty and homelessness for

Conflict criminology is the view that human behavior is shaped by interpersonal conflict and believe that those who retain social power will use it to further their own ends. Conflict criminology is all about inequality in society. It suggests that our laws and our norms reflect the interests of influential members of society. Conflict criminologist hold to the belief that social order is maintained through competition and conflict, and the 'winners' are those with the most power and the greatest economic and social resources, benefit by taking advantage of the 'losers.' Radical criminology is many times referred to as left or neo- marxist. They represent an abundance of voices and see society as a system. Radical criminology is based on

When looking at Marx writings and relating them to the discipline of criminology, two aspects that stand out are; firstly Marx did not devote his time to writing about crime and law therefore only several aspects of his writing on capitalism can be related to the field of criminology, secondly is the fact that an individual in society will always be defined by their position in the mode of production. This means that both the means of production and the individuals position in the means of production, worker or owner, are important factors that define the way in which their lives are led and experienced. When looking at capitalist societies there is a tendency for them to be the most violent types of societies with considerable amounts of crime. There is a clear visible division between those who own the

Street crimes that covered minor monetary crimes are routinely punished, while large scale financial and business crimes are treated much more leniently. (Horton the elephant is a criminal :) Radical criminology is a branch of conflict theory, using Marxist ideals. (Critical Perspectives on Crime) In his speeches, Carl Marx indicated the criminal justice system’s specific role in keeping the system in place. From his point of view, certain types of crime transform with a different character. Stealing could be seen as an attempt to take away from the rich, yet the law enforcement community followed a different path in which police officers concentrated on civil rights protesters. Modern capitalist societies are

Sociological theories have their own interpretation and explanation behind sex and gender. While conflict theory focuses on inequality and an imbalance of power distribution, when applied to gender and sex, men receive more power than their female counterparts. Conflict theory believes that through socialization, men are raised to be superior. From birth, society teaches children to fit into these cultural norms. The traits usually associated with males, the masculine traits, demonstrate power. Young boys are taught the values and norms which focus on power and strength while girls are raised to display the feminine traits of passiveness and submissiveness.

Neo-Marxists explain crime as a political choice or an act of rebellion. For example, black power movement, women’s liberation movement and the gay liberation front are all examples of fighting back against capitalism. Many crimes against poverty involve the redistribution of wealth. Deviants are not just passive victims of capitalism; they are actively struggling to alter capitalism. Paul Gilroy claims that crimes are frequently conscious and deliberate political acts, a reaction to racism. In the 1970’s and 1980’s capitalism created the political revolt of Blacks and racist policies of police towards Blacks. Black criminals defended themselves and hit back at a racist society.

Garland & Sparks (2000) ‘Criminology& Social Theory & the Challenge of Our Times’. The British Journal of Criminology, 40(2), 189-204.

Critical criminology focuses on a variety of perspectives that challenge the traditional understandings and expose false beliefs about crime more often than not by taking a contradictory path, where integrated theories try to combine the traditional understandings into one.

How does Class, state ,and social controls within a capitalistic society lead to increase crime due to the criminal laws and criminal justice system imposed on the lower middle class.

Conflict Theory Social-conflict approach is a framework for building theory that sees society as an arena of inequality that generates conflict and change, which can be divided into two parts, gender-conflict theory and race-conflict theory. Gender-conflict theory (feminist theory) focuses on inequality and conflict between women and men while race-conflict theory focuses on inequality and conflict between people of different racial and ethnic categories. Gender-conflict theory makes us aware of the many ways in which our society places men in positions of power over women and the importance of women to the development of sociology. Race-conflict theory illustrate that people of color contribute to the development of sociology. (Macionis, 2015,

There are several theories developing critical theories of criminology, the first discussed in this paper will be conflict theory (Bohm & Vogel, 2011). The conflict theory is the inequality of competing groups, moreover, the different social statuses of individuals. This theory compares the differences in white collar crime to the crime of the blue collar class. White collar crime is mostly money-related crimes, including embezzlement, committed by the economically elite, conversely, blue collar crime is considered more violent as well

Radical Criminology was based on a “Marxist theoretical framework that interrelates the capitalist mode of production, the state, law, crime control, and crime” were it is made up three competing interpretation instrumentalists, structuralist, and dialectical (Bohm, 2011.) They focus on the social arrangements of society including political and economic structure and argue that capitalist societies is made up of winners and losers (Bohm, 2011.) A radical definition of crime is as follows: “imperialism, racism, capitalism, sexism and other