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Chapter 9 Social Conflict Theories Frank Schmalleger PowerPoint presentation created by Ellen G. Cohn, Ph.D. Law and Social Order Perspectives An understanding of the interplay between law and social order is critical to any study of social change and of theories of criminology that emphasize the role of social conflict as it underlies criminality Consensus perspective Pluralist perspective Conflict perspective Criminology Today, 5th ed Frank Schmalleger 2 © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. The Consensus Perspective Consensus model: An analytic perspective that holds that most members of society agree about what is right and what is wrong and that the various elements of society work together toward a common vision of the greater good Criminology Today, 5th ed Frank Schmalleger 3 © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. The Consensus Perspective Key principles (Raymond Michalowski): A belief in the existence of core values The notion that the law reflects the collective will of the people The assumption that the law serves everyone equally The idea that criminals represent a unique subgroup with some distinguishing features Criminology Today, 5th ed Frank Schmalleger 4 © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. The Pluralist Perspective Pluralist perspective: An analytical approach that holds that a multiplicity of values and beliefs exists in any complex society Most social actors agree on the usefulness of law as a formal means of dispute resolution Criminology Today, 5th ed Frank Schmalleger 5 © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. The Pluralist Perspective Basic principles: Society consists of many and diverse social groups Each group has its own set of values, beliefs, and interests A general agreement exists as to the usefulness of formalized laws as a mechanism for dispute resolution The legal system is value neutral The legal system is concerned with the best interests of society Criminology Today, 5th ed Frank Schmalleger 6 © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. The Conflict Perspective Conflict perspective: An analytical perspective that holds that conflict is a fundamental aspect of social life itself and can never be fully resolved Criminology Today, 5th ed Frank Schmalleger 7 © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. The Conflict Perspective Karl Marx Fundamental social classes in capitalist society Proletariat Bourgeoisie Struggle between them is inevitable The natural outcome of such struggle would be the overthrow of the capitalist social order and the birth of a communist society Criminology Today, 5th ed Frank Schmalleger 8 © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. The Conflict Perspective Key principles: Society is made up of diverse social groups Each group holds to differing definitions of right and wrong Conflict between groups is unavoidable The fundamental nature of group conflict centers on the exercise of political power Law is a tool of power and furthers the interests of those powerful enough to make it Those in power are inevitably interested in maintaining their power Criminology Today, 5th ed Frank Schmalleger 9 © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. The Conflict Perspective Social class Central to the conflict perspective Distinctions made between individuals on the basis of important defining social characteristics Ascribed characteristics Achieved characteristics Criminology Today, 5th ed Frank Schmalleger 10 © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. George Vold Theoretical Criminology (1958) Crime is a product of political conflict between groups, a natural expression of the ongoing struggle for power, control and material well-being Powerful groups make laws that express and protect their interests Criminology Today, 5th ed Frank Schmalleger 11 © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. Ralf Dahrendorf Conflict is a fundamental part of society; an absence of conflict would be abnormal Power and authority lead to conflict, which leads to change Destructive change lessens social order Constructive change increases social cohesiveness Criminology Today, 5th ed Frank Schmalleger 12 © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. Austin Turk Criminality and Legal Order (1968) The law is a tool serving social groups seeking control over others Crime is the natural consequence of intergroup struggles Criminology Today, 5th ed Frank Schmalleger 13 © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. Theory in Perspective Radical criminology The causes of crime are rooted in social conditions that empower the wealthy and politically well organized but disenfranchise those less fortunate Period: 1960s – present Concepts: Social class, bourgeoisie, proletariat Criminology Today, 5th ed Frank Schmalleger 14 © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. Radical Criminology “New”, critical, Marxist criminology The outgrowth of three historical circumstances The writings of 19th century social utopian thinkers The rise of conflict theory in the social sciences The radicalization of American academia in the 1960s and 1970s Criminology Today, 5th ed Frank Schmalleger 15 © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. Radical Criminology Chambliss and Seidman’s four propositions The conditions of one’s life affect one’s values and norms Complex societies are composed of highly disparate and conflicting sets of norms The probability of a given group having its particular normative system embodied in law is not equally distributed but is related to the group’s political and economic position The higher the group’s political or economic position, the greater the probability that its views will be reflected in laws Criminology Today, 5th ed Frank Schmalleger 16 © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. Radical Criminology Richard Quinney Argues that almost all crimes committed by members of the lower classes are necessary for the survival of the individual members of those classes Crime is inevitable under capitalist conditions The solution to the problem of crime is the development of a socialist society Criminology Today, 5th ed Frank Schmalleger 17 © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. Radical Criminology Structural Marxism The structural institutions of society influence the behavior of individuals and groups by virtue of the types of relationships created Capitalism is a self-maintaining system in which the law and the justice system work to perpetuate the existing system of power relationships Criminology Today, 5th ed Frank Schmalleger 18 © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. Radical Criminology Instrumental Marxism Those in power intentionally create laws and social institutions that serve their own interests and keep others from becoming powerful The criminal law and the justice system are tools that the powerful use to control the poor and to keep them disenfranchised Criminology Today, 5th ed Frank Schmalleger 19 © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. Critical Criminology Crime is the natural product of a capitalist system Forces an inquiry into how the normative content of the criminal law is internalized in different segments of society, and how norm-holding is related to behavior A proactive call for a radical change in the social conditions that lead to crime Criminology Today, 5th ed Frank Schmalleger 20 © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. Currie’s Criminogenic Mechanisms The progressive destruction of livelihood The growth of extremes of economic inequality and material deprivation The withdrawal of public services and supports The erosion of informal and communal networks of mutual support, supervision, and care The spread of a materialistic, neglectful, and “hard” culture The unregulated marketing of the technology of violence The weakening of social and political alternatives Criminology Today, 5th ed Frank Schmalleger 21 © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. Radical-Critical Criminology and Policy Issues Most radical-critical criminologists focus on promoting a gradual transition to socialism Middle-range policy alternatives: Equal justice in the bail system Abolish mandatory sentences Prosecute corporate crimes Increase employment opportunities Promote community alternatives to imprisonment Eliminate injustices in handling victims and offenders Emphasis on creating economic equality or employment opportunities to combat crime Criminology Today, 5th ed Frank Schmalleger 22 © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. Critique of Radical-Critical Criminology Emphasizes methods of social change at the expense of well-developed theory Fails to recognize the fair degree of consensus about the nature of crime Marxist thinkers seem to confuse issues of personal politics with social reality Criminology Today, 5th ed Frank Schmalleger 23 © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. Critique of Radical-Critical Criminology Does not seem to appreciate the many problems contributing to crime Does not explain the low crime rates in some capitalist countries Does not address the problems of communist countries with poor records of human rights May resemble a religion more than a science Criminology Today, 5th ed Frank Schmalleger 24 © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. Theory in Perspective Left-realist criminology Holds that crime is a “real” social problem experienced by the lower classes Period: 1980s – present Concepts: Radical realism, critical realism, street crime, social justice, crime control Criminology Today, 5th ed Frank Schmalleger 25 © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. Left-Realist Criminology Focus on a pragmatic assessment of crime and the needs of victims Victims often poor and disenfranchised, preyed upon by criminals with similar backgrounds The criminal justice system could offer useful services if modifications were made to increase sensitivity Radical ideas must be translated into realistic social policies Criminology Today, 5th ed Frank Schmalleger 26 © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. Critique of Left-Realist Criminology More an ideological emphasis than a theory Rarely offers new testable propositions or hypotheses Tend to suggest crime control policies that focus on the needs of victims rather than on punitive measures Criminology Today, 5th ed Frank Schmalleger 27 © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. Theory in Perspective Feminist criminology Sees the conflict and inequity present in society as being based primarily on gender Period: 1970s – present Concepts: Power-control, gender socialization, empowerment Criminology Today, 5th ed Frank Schmalleger 28 © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. Feminist Criminology Designed to redirect the thinking of mainstream criminologists to include gender awareness Points out inequities inherent in male dominated forms of thought Traditional criminology has been malecentered, with women largely ignored Patriarchy: the tradition of male dominance Criminology Today, 5th ed Frank Schmalleger 29 © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. Feminist Criminology Freda Adler and Rita Simon Early researchers in feminist criminology Explain existing divergences in crime rates by gender as due primarily to socialization (not biology) Suggested that as gender equality increased, the criminal behavior of men and women would become more similar Despite increased gender equality in the past 30 years, this has not happened Criminology Today, 5th ed Frank Schmalleger 30 © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. Elements of Feminist Thought Gender is not a natural fact but a social, historical, and cultural product Gender and gender relations order social life and social institutions in fundamental ways Gender relations and constructs of masculinity and femininity are not symmetrical Criminology Today, 5th ed Frank Schmalleger 31 © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. Elements of Feminist Thought Systems of knowledge reflect men’s views of the natural and social world; the production of knowledge is gendered Women should be at the center, not the periphery, of intellectual inquiry Criminology Today, 5th ed Frank Schmalleger 32 © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. Contributions of Feminist Scholarship Focus on gender as a central organizing principle of contemporary life Awareness of the importance of power in shaping social relationships Heightened sensitivity to the way social context helps shape relationships Criminology Today, 5th ed Frank Schmalleger 33 © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. Contributions of Feminist Scholarship Recognition that social reality must be understood as a process A commitment to social change as a crucial part of feminist scholarship and practice Criminology Today, 5th ed Frank Schmalleger 34 © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. Radical Feminism Sees men as aggressive and violent individuals who control women through sexuality Suggests that eliminating male domination should reduce crime rates for women Criminology Today, 5th ed Frank Schmalleger 35 © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. Liberal Feminism Blames gender inequities on the development of separate areas of influence and traditional attitudes about the roles of men and women Suggests that eliminating traditional divisions of labor and power between the sexes would eliminate inequity Criminology Today, 5th ed Frank Schmalleger 36 © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. Socialist Feminism Sees gender oppression as a result of the economic structure of society and a natural outgrowth of capitalism Suggest that an egalitarian socialist or Marxist society would eliminate gender and class divisions Criminology Today, 5th ed Frank Schmalleger 37 © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. A Complementary Perspective An alternative framework developed by women of color Heightens feminism’s sensitivity to the interplay of gender, class, and race oppression Criminology Today, 5th ed Frank Schmalleger 38 © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. Power-Control Theory John Hagan Power relations at work structure family relations The family passes on gender relations and the social distribution of criminality Criminology Today, 5th ed Frank Schmalleger 39 © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. Power-Control Theory Paternalistic families Father works, mother cares for children Girls are controlled by both parents through male domination and female role modeling Boys are less closely controlled, are relatively free to deviate from social norms When the paternalistic model is absent, there is less gender socialization and more female delinquency Criminology Today, 5th ed Frank Schmalleger 40 © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. Feminist Criminology and Social Policy Feminist thinkers point to the need for increased controls over men’s violence towards women The creation of alternatives for women facing abuse Some suggest replacing men with women in positions of power Criminology Today, 5th ed Frank Schmalleger 41 © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. Critique of Feminist Criminology It may be a theory in formation Does not explain why the gender gap in crime still exists, despite increasingly balanced opportunities Feminist criminology is impossible because neither feminism nor criminology meet the strict requirements of formal theory building Criminology Today, 5th ed Frank Schmalleger 42 © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. Postmodern Criminology Postmodern criminology Applies understandings of social change inherent in postmodern philosophy to criminological theorizing and crime control A group of criminological perspectives bound together by the tone of postmodernism Criminology Today, 5th ed Frank Schmalleger 43 © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. Postmodern Criminology Claim past approaches have failed to assess the true causes of crime or offer workable crime control solutions Deconstructionist theories Challenge existing perspectives and work toward replacing them with perspectives more relevant to the postmodern era Criminology Today, 5th ed Frank Schmalleger 44 © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. Postmodern Criminology Constitutive criminology (Henry and Milovanovic) Crime and crime control are constructions produced through a social process People shape and are shaped by their society Suggest the application of semiotics to the study of law Suggest that crime should be understood as an integral part of society rather than something separate and apart from society Criminology Today, 5th ed Frank Schmalleger 45 © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. Critique of Postmodern Criminology The terminology is vaguely defined; the approaches are incoherent and confusing Postmodernism challenges traditional theories but fails to offer feasible alternatives Criminology Today, 5th ed Frank Schmalleger 46 © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. Theory in Perspective Peacemaking criminology Holds that crime control agencies and citizens must work together to alleviate social problems, including crime Period: 1980s – present Concepts: Compassionate criminology, restorative justice Criminology Today, 5th ed Frank Schmalleger 47 © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. Peacemaking Criminology Suggests that citizens and social control agencies need to work together to alleviate social problems and reduce crime The problem of crime control is not “how to stop crime” but “how to make peace” Emphasizes rising above personal dichotomies to end the political and ideological divisiveness in society Criminology Today, 5th ed Frank Schmalleger 48 © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. Underpinnings of Peacemaking Criminology Thought of the Western rational mode is conditional, limiting knowledge to what is already known Each life is a spiritual journal into the unknown and unknowable Human existence is characterized by suffering (including crime) Criminology Today, 5th ed Frank Schmalleger 49 © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. Underpinnings of Peacemaking Criminology Through love and compassion, we can end suffering and life in peace Crime can be ended only with the ending of suffering A criminology of peacemaking seeks to send suffering and eliminate crime Criminology Today, 5th ed Frank Schmalleger 50 © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. Restorative Justice Peace model Focuses on effective ways to develop a shared consensus on critical issues affecting the quality of life Participatory justice Informal criminal justice case processing that uses local community resources rather than traditional forms of official intervention Criminology Today, 5th ed Frank Schmalleger 51 © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. Restorative Justice Restorative justice A new system based on remedies and restoration rather than prison, punishment, and victim neglect Key principles Crime injures victims, the community, and the offender The criminal justice process should help repair those injuries The government should not have a monopoly over social responses to crime Criminology Today, 5th ed Frank Schmalleger 52 © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. Critique of Peacemaking Criminology Criticisms Is naive and utopian Fails to recognize the realities of crime control and law enforcement Peacemaking criminology envisions positive change on the social and institutional level Criminology Today, 5th ed Frank Schmalleger 53 © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. Theory in Perspective Convict criminology Consists of writings and musings on criminology by convicted felons and ex-inmates who have acquired academic credentials or who are associated with credentialed others. Period: 2001 – present Concepts: Issues-based, personal experience as valid information, critical of system Criminology Today, 5th ed Frank Schmalleger 54 © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. Convict Criminology Conflict criminology A new radical paradigm consisting of a body of writings and musings by convicted felons and ex-inmates who have obtained academic credentials or who are associated with credentialled others Largely issues-based and personal Provides recommendations for improving the justice system Criminology Today, 5th ed Frank Schmalleger 55 © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved. Policy Implications of Social Conflict Theories Social conflict theories suggest that reducing conflict will reduce crime rates Radical–Marxist criminologists suggest replacing the existing capitalist system with a socialist economic structure Peacemaking criminology calls for the use of conflict resolution Left-realism and feminist criminology offer a variety of solutions ranging from reducing paternalism to recognizing the consequences of crime to victims Criminology Today, 5th ed Frank Schmalleger 56 © 2009 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.
