Theory And All Essential Elements

The conflict model is named appropriately as it directly conflicts with the consensus model. “Those who reject the consensus model do so on the ground that moral attitudes are not absolute. [sic] “In large democratic societies such as the United States, different segments of society will inevitably have different value systems and shared norms” (p.6). The conflict model basis its stance on social class, income, age, and race. This model cites that those who exist separately within each aforementioned category are fighting for control against the other. The only similarity of the consensus and conflict models is that in the consensus model, those who consider themselves of moral value and the norm in society are also considered so in the conflict model; making the decisions in criminal laws because these attributes make them superior. The above comparison can result in an integrated definition of crime. The basics of crime or criminal action are:

Conflict Theory was "influenced by Karl Marx's socioeconomic view of the elite exploiting the masses." (Parillo 12). The conflict perspective focuses on the inequalities that create racial and ethnic tensions between groups. In contrast to the fundamentalist's emphasis on stability, conflict theorists maintain, "Racism has much to do with maintaining power and controlling resources." Society is seen as being continually involved in struggles and disagreements as diverse groups struggle over limited resources. The system is hierarchical and characterized by social inequality. Conflict theorists argue that the rich and powerful force social order on the poor and weak and that existing social patterns benefit some people while depriving others. "Conflict theorists

Conflict Theory looks at inequality (including power, money, status, etc.) and the resulting conflict it causes. Looking at alcohol abuse it could be said that the unequal distribution of and access to education leads to fewer opportunities for the lower class. This could be related to various factors including restricted access to education to prevent abuse.

The Conflict model, sometimes called the “system conflict theory” or non-system perspective, provides another approach to the study of Criminology and Criminal Justice. The studies of this model, focuses on the social inequalities of different groups. Criminologists believe that society and social order are based on the powerful and dominant groups. This model argues that all of the social components are designed to serve their own interests and that justice is a product of conflict, rather than cooperation. Meaning that the criminal justice system is expected to compete between each other in order to make justice in society, and that this is the most accurate way to deal with crime.

Each of these three contemporary sociological theories of crime are similar in that they focus mainly on crime in poor or disadvantaged areas. This focus is obvious with social conflict theory and social disorganization theory but not as much with rational choice theory although it is there. With rational choice theory the concept of what is to be gained

1. Describe the racial disparities in the criminal justice system. Why is their disparity in the CJS?

Another category of the Cultural Conflict Theory is the “delinquency and drift”. This category describes the whys and how delinquents and or criminals commit law breaking acts and their justification for the apparent lack of guilt for committing those crimes. In

One theory in criminology that attempts to explain crime is conflict theory. This theory says that crime is rooted in social conditions that favor those who

The social disorganization theory is directed towards social conditions. This theory argues that crime is due to social conflicts, change, and lack of consensus in the group.

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

Conflict theory and labeling theory are two similar theories in the world of crime. It has been debated whether or not there is a clear line separating the two theories. By evaluating the two theories, the differences between them can become more obvious and it becomes easier to separate the two. In addition to conflict theory and labeling theory, there is another type of theories that are used to explain crime. These theories focus more on a criminal 's lifetime and how their criminal records have evolved over time. Two of the leading theories in this realm of criminology are Moffit’s theory of life course persistent offenders and Sampson and Laub’s age-graded theory of informal social control. These theories both explain why people commit or don 't commit crime. There are similarities between the theories and also differences. By analyzing all four of these theories, a better understanding can be gained related to crime.

Social conflict theory is the only one out of the vast number of criminology theories that deals directly with this problem. From out of it’s Marxist roots arose a theory which challenges the way in which today’s society views it’s legal system and the implications it has on it’s working class citizens. The nature and purpose of social conflict theories is to examine the social controls made by the ruling class and imposed on the rest of society.

There are numerous perspectives of conflict theory on the law. Most of the conflict theorists talk about the law as a way of maintain inequality. That the law is there to advance the interests of people in power, usually people with money. There are also conflict theories that argue about morality or moral entrepreneurs, people that use the criminal law to impose their morality on other people despite the fact that it is not widely held belief and an example would be things like prostitution or other vices that are widely utilized by large segments of the population, but there are smaller segments

Whichever groups have the power is a central concern of this theory. These Marxist statements are the central arguments of all conflict theorist's statements of truth. The second part of the conflict theorists assumptions is that the different parts of the social system as a whole are intertwined, not because of a shared value system, however, but because of the fact that one group is inherently dominant over the other. This dominance happens because one group, the dominant group, controls the resources. The third part of the assumptions of the conflict theorist is that society does not necessarily have needs, but individuals and groups do. Because the dominant group has the access to wealth, power and prestige, they have the ability to have their needs defined as "system needs." The fourth part of the conflict theorist's assumptions is the basic question of "Who benefits?" from the social arrangements of the day. On any issue in society, there are people who benefit and people who don't benefit. This conflict always gives the advantage to the stronger party. The fifth part of the conflict theorists system of assumptions is the conflict itself, which lends tension, hostility, competitions, disagreement over goals, and values, as well as violence. Not always are these issues negative, however. They can act as an adhesive to help join groups together in the pursuit of a positive goal. The sixth and final part of the

A contrasting view, also by Hollin, is the “conflict view”. This view states that crime is created due to there being different classes within society. The conflict may lead to crime as a result envy. For example, if one member of society owns three cars whilst another cannot afford one the poorer person may steal the other ones car in order to compete with the upper class and cause them pain. The “conflict view” can possibly be supported by Webster, C. (2007, p.194) who states that economic and social change can influence crime rates in a location. Webster also suggests that crime is often linked to “masculinity”, hence why perhaps we often