1. Introduction to Criminology Instructor: Jorge Pierrott
CRJ 270
Instructor: Jorge Pierrott

2. 9
Social Conflict Theories

3. Chapter Objectives
After reading this chapter, students should be able to answer the following questions:
What three analytical perspectives on law and social order are described in this chapter?
What are the central tenants of radical criminology?
What five emerging conflict theories discussed in this chapter purport to explain crime and criminality?
What are the crime-control implications of social conflict theories?

4. Occupy Wall Street Movement!
Social inequality – 99%s
What can we do in the Criminal Justice system to address economic inequality?
This existed throughout parts of Europe during the 1800’s.
Important thinkers such as Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels addressed these issues.
1848 – The Communist Manifesto was drafted.
Communism would replace capitalism.

5. Law and Social Order Perspectives
Various events in the 20th century conspired to change laws and create new kinds of criminal activity.
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.
Three key analytical perspectives in criminology help provide an understanding of the relationship between law and social order and how social conflict affects criminality:
The consensus perspective
The pluralist perspective
The conflict perspective

6. The Consensus Perspective
Most members of society agree about what is right and wrong and work together toward a common vision of the greater good.
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7. The Consensus Perspective
Key principles
Most members of society believe in the existence of core values.
Laws reflect the collective will of the people.
Law serves all people equally.
Law violators represent a unique subgroup with distinguishing features.
Most members of society believe in the existence of core values.
The consensus perspective holds that shared notions of right and wrong characterize the majority of society’s members.
Laws reflect the collective will of the people
Law is seen as the result of a consensus, achieved through legislative action and represents a kind of social conscience.
Law serves all people equally.
From the consensus point of view, the law not only embodies a shared view of justice but also is perceived to be just in its application.
Law violators represent a unique subgroup with distinguishing features
The consensus approach holds that law violators must somehow be improperly socialized or psychologically defective or must suffer from some other lapse that leaves them unable to participate in what is otherwise widespread agreement on values and behavior.

8. The Pluralist Perspective
Society consists of many and diverse social groups.
Each group has its own values, beliefs and interests.
A general agreement exists in reference to the usefulness of laws as a mechanism for dispute resolution
Despite the assumptions of consensus thinkers, it appears that not everyone agrees on what the law should say
Modern society involves conflicting values and ideals (abortion, euthanasia, death penalty, etc.)
There are many social groups, each with a separate agenda and a different point of view regarding right and wrong
The pluralist perspective suggests that there are many different values and beliefs in any complex society and that each social group will have its own set of beliefs, values, and interests
A key assumption is that although different viewpoints exist, most people agree on the usefulness of law as a formal means of dispute resolution
The law is a peacekeeping tool used to settle disputes
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9. The Pluralist Perspective
The legal system is value neutral
The legal system is concerned with the best interests of society
The basic principles of the pluralistic perspective
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
The pluralistic perspective suggests that conflict is resolved through the peacekeeping activities of unbiased government officials exercising objective legal authority

10. The Conflict Perspective
Conflict is a fundamental aspect of social life – can never be fully resolved
Karl Marx
Two fundamental social classes in capitalist society
Bourgeoisie – “Haves”
Proletariat – “Have nots”
Struggle between classes is inevitable
This perspective suggests that conflict is a fundamental aspect of social life that cannot be fully resolved
Formal social control agencies coerce the un-empowered to comply with rules established by those in power
The law is a tool of the powerful used to keep control of social institutions
Social order rests on the exercise of power through law - those in power work to remain there
One of the best known writers on social conflict was Karl Marx
According to Marx, there are two main social classes within any capitalist society:
The proletariat are the working class, who are without power and must earn a living by selling their labor (the “have-nots”)
The bourgeoisie are the capitalists or wealthy owners of the means of production (the “haves”)
These groups are engaged in ongoing conflict or class struggle: according to Marx, the natural outcome of this struggle would be the overthrow of the capitalist social order and the birth of a communistic (classless) society
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11. The Conflict Perspective
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
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12. The Conflict Perspective
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.
Willem Bonger described the ongoing struggle between the haves and the have-nots as a natural consequence of a capitalist society and said that in capitalist societies only those without power are routinely subject to the criminal law
There are six key elements of the conflict perspective:
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 against those who would usurp it

13. Key Conflict Thinkers George Vold Ralf Dahrendorf Austin Turk
crime is a product of political conflict between groups
Ralf Dahrendorf
power and authority lead to conflict, which leads to change
Austin Turk
crime is the natural consequence of intergroup struggles
A key element of radical criminology is the concept of social class, which usually involves distinctions made between individuals on the basis of significant defining characteristics (race, religion, profession, income, wealth, housing, etc.)
George Vold saw crime as the result of political conflict between groups and as a natural expression of the struggle for power and control
He considered conflict to be a universal form of interaction that intensifies the loyalty of group members to their respective groups
Vold stated that the process of law making, law breaking, and law enforcement reflects conflicts between interest groups
Powerful groups make laws that express and protect their interests
Law is a political statement, and crime is a political definition imposed on those whose interests do not lie with what the powerful define as acceptable
Crime is seen as a manifestation of needs and values denied by society
Ralf Dahrendorf saw conflict as a fundamental part of society, so that an absence of conflict would be abnormal
Power and authority lead to conflict between groups, and conflict leads to either destructive or constructive change
Destructive change lessens social order whereas constructive change increases social cohesiveness
Austin Turk saw the law as a tool serving social groups seeking control over others and saw crime as the natural consequence of intergroup struggles because it resulted from the definitions imposed by the laws of the powerful upon the disapproved strivings of the unempowered

14. Radical Criminology
The causes of crime are rooted in social conditions empowering the wealthy and politically organized and disenfranchising those less fortunate
The conflict perspective is based in radical criminology, also known as new, critical, or Marxist criminology

15. Radical Criminology Outgrowth of three historical circumstances
Writings of 19th century social utopians
Rise of conflict theory in social sciences
Radicalization of American academia in 1960s and 1970s
Contemporary radical criminology suggests that the causes of crime are rooted in social conditions empowering the wealthy and politically well-organized while disenfranchising the less fortunate
Radical criminology developed out of three historical circumstances
The writings of 19th-century social utopian thinkers (Marx, Engels, Hegel, Bonger, Weber, etc.)
The rise of conflict theory in the social sciences
The radicalization of American academia in the 1960s and 1970s
Contemporary radical criminology suggests that the causes of crime are rooted in social conditions empowering the wealthy and politically well-organized while disenfranchising the less fortunate

16. Chambliss and Seidman
The conditions of one's life affect one's values and norms.
Dominant groups enforce laws in order to guarantee dominance.
Complex societies are composed of highly disparate and conflicting sets of norms.
Middle class and upper class criminals are less likely to be apprehended.
William Chambliss states that what makes a behavior criminal is the coercive power of the state to enforce the will of the ruling class
In 1971, Chambliss and Robert T. Seidman published Law, Order, and Power, which helped to bridge conflict and radical theories
They stated that the more economically stratified a society becomes, the more necessary it is for dominant groups to enforce through coercion the conduct norms that guarantee their dominance
Chambliss also stated that middle- and upper-class criminals are less likely to be apprehended and punished by the criminal justice system

17. Chambliss and Seidman
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
By 1975, Chambliss’s work had become more Marxist and suggested that socialist societies would have less crime than capitalist societies because of less intense class struggles

18. Radical Criminology Richard Quinney
Almost all crimes committed by the lower classes are necessary for the survival of individual members
Crime is inevitable under capitalist conditions
The solution is the development of a socialist society
Richard Quinney is one of the most influential radical criminologists
He set forth six key Marxist propositions:
American society is based on an advanced capitalist economy
The state is organized to serve the interests of the dominant economic class (the capitalist ruling class)
Criminal law is an instrument of the state and ruling class used to maintain and perpetuate the existing social and economic order
Crime control in a capitalist society is accomplished through institutions and agencies administered by a governmental elite, representing ruling-class interests, for the purpose of establishing domestic order
The contradictions of advanced capitalism require the oppression of the subordinate classes by whatever means necessary, especially through the coercion and violence of the legal system
Only with the collapse of the capitalist society and the creation of a new society based on socialist principles, will there be a solution to the crime problem
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19. Radical Criminology
Contemporary radical criminology emphasizes social class differences as a factor in the existing propensity toward criminality.
Structural Marxism sees capitalism as a self-maintaining system in which the law and justice systems work to perpetuate the existing system of power relationships.
Instrumental Marxism sees the criminal law and justice system as tools used by the powerful to control the poor.
Modern radical criminology is divided into two schools:
Structural Marxism sees capitalism as a self-maintaining system in which the law and justice systems work to perpetuate the existing system of power relationships
Instrumental Marxism sees the criminal law and justice system as tools used by the powerful to control the poor
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20. Radical Criminology Structural Marxism Instrumental Marxism
Capitalism is a self-maintaining system in which the law and the justice system work to perpetuate the existing system of power relationships
Instrumental Marxism
The criminal law and the justice system are tools that the powerful use to control the poor and to keep them disenfranchised

21. Critical Criminology
Critical criminology forces an inquiry into how social relations lead to crime.
A proactive call for a radical change in the social conditions that lead to crime
Some scholars distinguish critical criminology from radical criminology
Critical criminology is a way of critiquing social relationships that lead to crime
Radical criminology is a proactive call for radical change in the social conditions leading to crime

22. Radical-Critical Criminology and Policy Issues
Most radical-critical criminologists focus on promoting a gradual transition to socialism
Middle-range policy alternatives emphasize bringing about a justice system that is more fair and closer to the radical ideal.
Elliott Currie
Elliott Currie’s work is an example of the critical perspective in contemporary criminology
Currie claims that market societies are especially likely to have high levels of violent crime because the striving after personal economic gain becomes paramount
Currie states that there are seven mechanisms that operate in a market society to produce crime:
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
Currie predicts that as more countries copy America’s market society culture, crime rates will rise and there will be more emphasis on punishment and the growth of large prison systems worldwide
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23. Radical-Critical Criminology and Policy Issues
Emphasis on creating economic equality or employment opportunities to combat crime.
Middle-range policy alternatives include:
Equal justice in the bail system,
Abolishing mandatory sentences,
Prosecuting corporate crimes,
Reducing prison overcrowding,
Increasing equality within criminal justice system employment, etc.

24. 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.
Does not appreciate the many problems contributing to crime.
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25. Critique of Radical-Critical Criminology
Does not explain 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

26. Left Realist Criminology
Faults radical-critical criminologists for romanticizing street crime and criminals
Shifts focus to assessment of crime and the needs of victims
Radical ideas must be translated into realistic social policies.
Instead of seeing the police as oppressors working on behalf of the state, people should work with police to correct problems.
Left-realist criminology is a natural outgrowth of concerns with street crime
It criticizes radical–critical criminology for romanticizing street crime and criminals and for falsely seeing street criminals as political resistors in an oppressive capitalist society
It shifts the focus onto a pragmatic assessment of crime and the needs of victims

27. Critique of Left-Realist Criminology
More an ideological emphasis than a theory
Rarely offers new testable propositions or hypotheses
Crime control approaches focus on needs of victimized

28. Feminist Criminology
Redirects criminologists' thinking to include gender awareness
Feminism is a way of seeing the world
Views gender in terms of power relationships
Consequences of sexism and unequal gender-based power distribution have affected fundamental aspects of social roles and personal experiences
This is a model intended to redirect the thinking of mainstream criminologists to include gender awareness
Feminism is a way of seeing the world, not a sexual orientation
Feminism views gender in terms of power relationships, arguing that men have traditionally held more power than women

29. Strands of Feminist Thought
Liberal feminism
Gender role socialization is the primary source of women's oppression
Eliminating traditional divisions of labor and power between the sexes will eliminate inequality and promote social harmony
Liberal feminists se gender role socialization as the primary source of women’s oppression and call for the elimination of traditional divisions of labor and power between the sexes as a way of eliminating inequality and promoting social harmony
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30. Strands of Feminist Thought
Radical feminism
Patriarchy is the cause of women's oppression
Eliminating male domination should reduce female crime rates reduce male violence against women
Radical feminism sees patriarchy as the cause of women’s oppression and argue that eliminating male domination should reduce crime rates for women and precipitate a decrease in male violence against women
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31. Strands of Feminist Thought
Marxist feminism
Oppression of women caused by their subordinate working-class status in capitalist societies
Social feminism
Sees gender oppression as a consequence of the interaction between the economic structure of society and gender-based roles
Marxist feminism focuses on the oppression of women caused by their subordinate working-class status
Social feminism sees gender oppression as a result of the interaction between the economic structure of society and gender-based roles
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32. Strands of Feminist Thought
Postmodern feminism
Questions social construction of concepts like justice and crime
Postmodern feminism questions the social construction of concepts typically used in any discussion of criminology

33. Proponents of Feminist Criminology
Patriarchy
male dominance
Freda Adler and Rita Simon
Explain divergences in crime rates by gender as due primarily to socialization (not biology)
Said as gender equality increased, the criminal behavior of men and women would become more similar
Proponents of Feminist Criminology
Early researchers include Freda Adler and Rita J. Simon, who both published books on feminist criminology in 1975
They suggested that gender differences in crime rates were due to socialization rather than biology
As gender equality increased, they said the criminal behavior of men and women would become more similar
However, this has not been validated by observations surrounding increased gender equality over the past decades
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34. Proponents of Feminist Criminology
Freda Adler and Rita Simon
Despite increased gender equality in the past 30 years, this has not happened
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35. Proponents of Feminist Criminology
Freda Adler and Rita J. Simon
Gender differences in crime due to socialization
Expected male and female criminality would become more similar as gender equality increased
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36. Proponents of Feminist Criminology
Carol Smart
Sensitized criminologists to sexist traditions in the field
Work led to recognition of women's issues

37. Elements of Feminist Thought
Gender is 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
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38. 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

39. Contributions of Feminist Scholarship
Focus on gender as a central organizing principle of contemporary life
Importance of power in shaping social relationships
Sensitivity to how social context shapes relationships
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40. 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

41. Proponents of Feminist Criminology
Power-control theory – John Hagan
Power relations in society reflected at home
Family class structure shapes social reproduction of gender relations
John Hagan’s approach, known as power control theory, suggests that the family class structure shapes the social reproduction of gender relations and the social distribution of criminality
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42. Proponents of Feminist Criminology
Feminist thinkers suggest social policies such as increasing controls over male violence toward women, creating alternatives for abused women, and the protection of children
Feminist thinkers suggest social policies such as increasing controls over male violence toward women, creating alternatives for women facing abuse, and for the protection of children

43. Critique of Feminist Criminology
It may be a theory in formation
Does not explain why the gender gap in crime still exists
Feminist criminology is impossible because neither feminism nor criminology meet the strict requirements of formal theory building

44. Postmodern Criminology
Applies understandings of social change inherent in postmodern philosophy to criminological theorizing and crime control
Claim past approaches have failed to assess the true causes of crime or offer workable crime control solutions
All postmodern criminologies build upon the idea that past approaches have failed to realistically assess the true causes of crime and to offer workable crime control solutions, or that if they have, the theories and solutions are no longer applicable to the postmodern era
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45. Postmodern Criminology
Much postmodern criminology is deconstructionist - works toward replacing existing perspectives with ones more relevant to the postmodern era
As a result, much postmodern criminology is deconstructionist
Its theories are sometimes called deconstructionist theories, meaning approaches that challenge existing criminological perspectives and work toward replacing them with perspectives more relevant to the postmodern era
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46. 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
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47. Postmodern Criminology
Semiotics (study of signs and symbols)
May be applied to notion of crime
Crime should be understood as an integral part of society not as something separate from it
They emphasize the application of semiotics, the study of signs and symbols, to the notion of crime, which is itself a socially constructed category or sign
Henry and Milovanovic suggest that crime should be understood as an integral part of society rather than something separate and apart from society

48. 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

49. 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”
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50. Peacemaking Criminology
Emphasizes rising above personal dichotomies to end the political and ideological divisiveness in society
Peacemaking criminology seeks to end suffering and thereby eliminate crime
Peacemaking criminology emphasizes rising above personal dichotomies to end the political and ideological divisiveness in society

51. Restorative Justice
Achieve effective crime control through a peace model based on cooperation, not retribution
Dispute resolution programs based on participatory justice
Emphasize remedies and restoration rather than prison, punishment, victim neglect
Peacemaking criminology emphasizes crime control through the adoption of a peace model based on cooperation rather than retribution
The peace model of crime control focuses on effective ways for developing a shared consensus on critical issues such as crime
Alternative dispute resolution programs such as mediation are characterized by cooperative efforts to resolve disputes rather than by adversarial proceedings
Dispute resolution is based on the participatory justice principle in which all parties accept a form of binding arbitration by neutral parties
Restorative justice is a modern social movement to reform the criminal justice system and stresses healing over retribution
The primary goal of restorative justice is restoration

52. 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

53. Moral Time Conflict caused by the movement of social time
Social time = movement in social space, changes in the amount of intimacy, inequality, diversity
Static conditions cannot cause crime
Donald Black uses the concept of social time to refer to specific events that alter relationships within social space
People commit crime but an event in social time is the direct cause of crime
Black’s use of the word “time” is meant to encompass change
Conflict is everywhere and results from a clash between what people view as right or wrong and the ability to apply that sense to events in social time
Rapid change across the dimensions of intimacy, inequality, or diversity (social time) produces conflict – the greater the speed and intensity of social time, the greater the conflict
Social norms and a group’s sense of morality seek to prevent social change
Statics conditions cannot cause crime, only movements in social time
This is a general theory of conflict

54. Convict Criminology
Body of writings by convicted felons and ex-inmates who have obtained academic credentials or who are associated with credentialled others
Largely issues-based and personal
Primary method used is based in ethnography
Provides recommendations for improving the justice system
This is less a school of thought than a body of writings and musings on the subject of criminology by convicted felons and ex-inmates who have obtained academic credentials or who are associated with credentialed others
Convict criminology is largely issues-based and personal
It tends to assume a critical perspective with regard to the justice system, especially corrections
The language used by convict criminologists differs from those of academic criminologists without convict background
The primary method used is based in ethnography
Convict criminology is the source of a number of recommendations for improving the justice system, most stemming from the lived experiences of the convict criminologists

55. Critique of Convict Criminology
Critics suggest that having been in prison distorts the criminologist's view of the field, rather than enhancing it
Argue that personal experience rarely gives anyone the entire picture need to understand a phenomenon
Focusing on injustices of prison life may keep one from appreciating the reformative effects of punishment
Critics of convict criminology suggest that having been in prison distorts the criminologist’s view of the field, rather than enhancing it

56. Policy Implications of Social Conflict Theories
Bringing about social change and redistributing the wealth in society will reduce crime rates
Radical–Marxists
replace existing capitalist system with a socialist economic structure
Peacemaking criminology
use of conflict resolution
Social conflict theories suggest that bringing about social change and redistributing the wealth in society will lead to a reduction in crime rates
B. Various schools of thought have different views of how to reduce conflict
Radical–Marxist criminologists argue that the only effective way is to replace the existing capitalist system with a socialist economic structure
Peacemaking criminology calls for the use of conflict resolution
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57. Policy Implications of Social Conflict Theories
Left-realism and feminist criminology offer a variety of solutions ranging from reducing paternalism to recognizing the consequences of crime to victims
Left-realism and feminist criminology offer a variety of solutions ranging from reducing paternalism to recognizing the consequences of crime to victims