FREE ESSAY ON CLASS, STATE, AND CRIME: SOCIAL CONFLICT PERSPECTIVE

CLASS, STATE, AND CRIME: SOCIAL CONFLICT PERSPECTIVE

Michael Merchant
Class: Social Psychology
Class, State, and Crime : Social Conflict Perspective
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.
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.
Some theorists say that class order has nothing to do with crime rates in society, but
Richard Quinney have made great strides in proving that social class has a direct
correlation with crime due to the social controls of a capitalist government. Social
conflict theory focuses on why governments make and enforce rules of law and morality
then why an individual violates the law. Conflict theorists do not view those who commit
deviant behavior as rebels who can't conform to social norms, they show how criminal law
is used as a mechanism for social change.
Conflict theory flourished during the widespread social and political changes of the
1960's, because it challenged the legitimacy of the government's creation and implication
of laws designed to keep the middle- class down. Social Conflict Theory came out of the
Marxist thought. "Marx believed that the character of every civilization is determined by
its mode of production the way its people develop and produce material goods."( Senna, pg
226) This concept has two main components: productive forces and productive
relationships. Productive forces include things such as technology, energy sources, and
material resources.
Productive relationships are relationships between the people producing the goods and
services. The most important relationship in industrial culture is between the owners of
the means of production and the proletarians. The political and economic belief of the
dominate class influences all aspects of life in that workers bend to the whims of the
capitalist system.
Thus, the economic system controls all aspects of human life, and these lives are left to
revolve around the means of production. Marx believed the system contained the seeds of
it's own destruction in that capitalists are constantly competing to produce goods more
efficiently and cheaper. When wages are cut so low that the laboring class is unable to
purchase the goods produced there will be an economic crisis. Then when conditions are
bad enough the oppressed will rise up against the owners and capitalism will have
destroyed itself.
The primary goal of Social Conflict is to examine the relationship between the ruling
class and the process by which deviance is defined and controlled in capitalist society.
The government creates laws and rules to maintain the power and position for the power
elite. Centering around a view of society in which the elite class uses the criminal
justice system as a means of controlling threats to its status.
The ruling elite extends the definition of illegal or criminal behavior to encompass
those whom might threaten the status quo. The rules draw the lower middle class into this
pattern of control, leading the have-nots to believe they hold a stake in the status quo.
Conflict theorists do not argue that the poor commit more crimes than the rich, but they
are certainly arrested and punished more often.
A natural frustration exists in society in which a high value is placed on being rich and
attaining the American dream, but this dream is unattainable for the majority of the
citizens. A deep hostility develops among the lower class toward a social order that they
can not participate unless it's by illegal means. Thus, the legal system is designed to
guard the position of the upper class by any legal means necessary. " Conflict theorists
seriously contradict the long-held presumption that the American system of law and
justice is humane and fair to all citizens." (Senna, page 228)
Conflict theorist's view the concept of juvenile delinquency to be created by and for the
greater good of the capitalist society. Delinquency is a normal response by youth to the
social conditions and controls placed upon them by the system. The roots of juvenile
delinquency can be traced to nineteenth-century efforts of powerful and wealthy citizens
to control the behavior of weak youths.
Social control agencies such as the family and the schools prepare youth for placement in
the capitalistic system, by giving them behavior models that help them conform to job
expectations. The capitalist state fails to control delinquents, because it is in the
state's best interest to have a large number of deviant youths. These youths later are
used to work in low paying jobs that no one else wants, thus maintaining and underclass
of cheap labor that will produce quality goods and services for the upper-class.
The lower-class often form gangs as a means to survive in a system that offers no other
alternatives for them to reach the American dream. Other classes in stable areas commit
crime because the economic system excludes them from advancement. The middle-class youth
also face problems such as alienation of individuals, the competitive struggle, and the
absence of human feelings, all of which are aspects of capitalism, contribute to
middle-class delinquency.
Thus, conflict theory can be used to show not only do the poor commit crimes, but also
that the so called privileged fall into patterns of criminal activity due to some of the
same capitalistic pressures.
Many critics of social theory feel that it lack empirical verification and have been
historical and theoretical. "When Marxist theories of deviance are tested they lack the
specific propositions sociologists require to test theories properly."(senna, page 234)
Others dispute the claims that the crimes of the rich are worst than those of the poor.
Criminal activity and immoral behavior occur on every social level.
Can a correlation between crime rates and social class be found in the non-theoretical
world? According to a study done by Mary Lynn McDonald there is a direct correlation
between social class and delinquency. She used a four-fold classification of social
class: upper middle, lower middle, upper working, and lower working. She then went
through several different categories of crime: serious theft, damage, violent, petty
theft, and general misconduct.
In each of the categories there was a higher admission to committing these crimes from
upper working and lower working boys than the middle class boys. The gap grew even more
wider when a two-fold classification was used grouping the working-class boys together
and the middle-class boys. "There are differences between the social classes in rates of
admitted delinquency, measured several ways, consistently showing higher rates on the
part of the working-class boy." (McDonald, page 98)
Richard Quinney see's criminal justice as a principle feature of the modern advanced
capitalist society. The concept of injustice has evolved with the development of
capitalism. As economic development goes through different stages the notion of justice
gets tied to the basis of production securing the existing order. Capitalist justice
regulates the struggle between classes in developing capitalism. "Justice in a capitalist
society, today as always, is an ideological and practical instrument in class struggle."
(Quinney, Page 2)
Justice is to be applied to individual cases, but the general objective is for the
promotion of social order. The healthy order becomes one that benefits the capitalist
class. Justice in the capitalist society equals the idea of equal justice with the
formulation and administration of positive law. Capitalist justice is then made concrete
in the establishment of the legal order. Quinney puts it this way, "Capitalist justice is
by the capitalist class, for the capitalist class, and against the working class." (
Quinney, Page 3)
Since the 1960's official and public attention has focused on rising crime and how it
should be controlled. To prevent crime, law enforcement officers must be better organized
and equipped, and more effective legislation must be passed. At this period a new
terminology was being born, criminal justice.
The criminal justice movement is thus understood as a state-initiated and state-
supported effort to rationalize mechanisms of social control. The system developed is one
in which can be modified periodically as problems created by capitalism arise. The state
also makes sure the citizens participate in crime control by having crime watches in the
communities and citizen patrols.
The concept of justice serves the larger purpose of providing a standard by which to
judge our concrete actions. Quinney poses the question, "Is justice necessary in Marxist
theory and practice?" (Quinney, page 27) Marx is seen to have avoided the use of justice
as terminology. The whole notion of justice was seen as a way of mystifying the actual
operation of capitalism.
The problem with the concept of justice is that it is fundamentally a juridical or legal
concept. Thus, the concept of justice is restricted to rational standards by which laws,
social institutions, and human actions are judged. In this society human life is to be
understood in terms of productive forces and relations of society, and not with the state
as an expression of the prevailing mode of production.
When a system is oppressive the term "unjust" misses the larger design. The terminology
of justice limits the understanding, and blinds the citizens of the capitalist society to
the truth that oppression does exist in this structure. Apolitical economy based on
increasing capital is bond for class struggle between the working class and the owners.
The ironic thing about capitalism is that the capitalist class needs the expansion of
productivity from the workers to gain a surplus value.
The dynamics of capitalism is the struggle between classes. "The principle classes of any
capital society, at the various stages of development, are the classes whose
interrelations determine the essence of the mode of production." (Afanassyev, page 66)
The composition of the principle classes has been undergoing changes in recent decades of
capitalist development. These changes have come about due to modern scientific and
technological advances and with new demands of capitalist accumulation.
The most important thing however in the development of advanced capitalism is the
expansion of the labor class. The changes in the labor force from manual to clerical
changes the class structure of advanced capitalism. However, the capitalist class is also
divided into several fractions. Two major fractions are those who own and control the
units of the economy as opposed to those whose holdings are less than that of the
uppermost sector of the class. The upper division, the "monopoly sector," owns the large
corporations and financial institutions. These capitalist of the upper divisions control
and influence most if not all of the world's economy. This is only one percent of the
population, whereas, eighty percent are in the working class, but the upper division
weald all the power.
Once someone resists the notion that such a small portion of the population should hold
all the power they are immediately labeled as being criminal an enemy of the state.
Instead of an enemy they were only standing up and speaking out against the oppression of
capitalism and the task becomes a political awaking of the people about the oppression of
the power that be. Politically conscious action in such a fashion becomes a vital part of
the class struggle and the problem lies in developing a revolutionary consciousness among
those who resist capitalist conditions.
The social problems generated by the capitalist system are increased with further
development of capitalism and the class struggle becomes regulated by the state. Policies
of control are implemented in an attempt to regulate conflicts that can otherwise be
changed by social and economic reforms. The political economy is entertained with the
political economy of criminal justice and the capitalist expands its resources on
programs to secure the order. These programs are designed to keep "social peace" among
the employed and underprivileged citizens.
Welfare and law enforcement are the primary forms of the state's social expenses that
repress action against the existing order and the criminal justice system becomes the
guardian of the capitalist system. Instead of solving the problems of crime the attention
turns to how much crime can society afford and to reduce crime would change beyond
recognition the capitalist system. Crime becomes the price the capitalist would pay for
capitalism, unfortunately all citizens end up paying the price.
The future of the criminal justice system is that it continues to be developed by the
state and the upper-class as a way of controlling the middle-class and the lower-class.
Criminal justice is mixed with traditional conservatism and liberal approaches to social
problems. As these problems grow the political expressions by the citizens grow smaller
and smaller and the strength of the state grows stronger and stronger. The irony lies in
that strengthening the criminal justice system only strengthens what facilitates crime in
the first place.
Criminal Justice ceases to be the solution to crime and in order to move beyond it we
must move beyond capitalism and satisfy the needs of the entire working class. Social
conflict theory deals with this critical dilemma in our society oppression and examines
the social controls placed on society by the ruling class. 
Bibliography
McDonald, Lynn. Social Class and Delinquency. Connecticut: Archon, 1969
Quinney, Richard. Class, State, and Crime. New York: Longman, 1977
Quinney, Richard. The Social Reality of Crime. Boston: Little, Brown 1970
Savitz, Leonard and Marvin Wolfgang. The Sociology of Crime and Delinquency. New York:
John Wiley and Sons, 1970
Senna, Joseph and Larry Siegel. Juvenile Delinquency Theory, Practice, and Law. New York:
West Publishing, 1994
Bibliography
Michael Merchant
Class: Social Psychology
Class, State, and Crime : Social Conflict Perspective
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.
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.
Some theorists say that class order has nothing to do with crime rates in society, but
Richard Quinney have made great strides in proving that social class has a direct
correlation with crime due to the social controls of a capitalist government. Social
conflict theory focuses on why governments make and enforce rules of law and morality
then why an individual violates the law. Conflict theorists do not view those who commit
deviant behavior as rebels who can't conform to social norms, they show how criminal law
is used as a mechanism for social change.
Conflict theory flourished during the widespread social and political changes of the
1960's, because it challenged the legitimacy of the government's creation and implication
of laws designed to keep the middle- class down. Social Conflict Theory came out of the
Marxist thought. "Marx believed that the character of every civilization is determined by
its mode of production the way its people develop and produce material goods."( Senna, pg
226) This concept has two main components: productive forces and productive
relationships. Productive forces include things such as technology, energy sources, and
material resources.
Productive relationships are relationships between the people producing the goods and
services. The most important relationship in industrial culture is between the owners of
the means of production and the proletarians. The political and economic belief of the
dominate class influences all aspects of life in that workers bend to the whims of the
capitalist system.
Thus, the economic system controls all aspects of human life, and these lives are left to
revolve around the means of production. Marx believed the system contained the seeds of
it's own destruction in that capitalists are constantly competing to produce goods more
efficiently and cheaper. When wages are cut so low that the laboring class is unable to
purchase the goods produced there will be an economic crisis. Then when conditions are
bad enough the oppressed will rise up against the owners and capitalism will have
destroyed itself.
The primary goal of Social Conflict is to examine the relationship between the ruling
class and the process by which deviance is defined and controlled in capitalist society.
The government creates laws and rules to maintain the power and position for the power
elite. Centering around a view of society in which the elite class uses the criminal
justice system as a means of controlling threats to its status.
The ruling elite extends the definition of illegal or criminal behavior to encompass
those whom might threaten the status quo. The rules draw the lower middle class into this
pattern of control, leading the have-nots to believe they hold a stake in the status quo.
Conflict theorists do not argue that the poor commit more crimes than the rich, but they
are certainly arrested and punished more often.
A natural frustration exists in society in which a high value is placed on being rich and
attaining the American dream, but this dream is unattainable for the majority of the
citizens. A deep hostility develops among the lower class toward a social order that they
can not participate unless it's by illegal means. Thus, the legal system is designed to
guard the position of the upper class by any legal means necessary. " Conflict theorists
seriously contradict the long-held presumption that the American system of law and
justice is humane and fair to all citizens." (Senna, page 228)
Conflict theorist's view the concept of juvenile delinquency to be created by and for the
greater good of the capitalist society. Delinquency is a normal response by youth to the
social conditions and controls placed upon them by the system. The roots of juvenile
delinquency can be traced to nineteenth-century efforts of powerful and wealthy citizens
to control the behavior of weak youths.
Social control agencies such as the family and the schools prepare youth for placement in
the capitalistic system, by giving them behavior models that help them conform to job
expectations. The capitalist state fails to control delinquents, because it is in the
state's best interest to have a large number of deviant youths. These youths later are
used to work in low paying jobs that no one else wants, thus maintaining and underclass
of cheap labor that will produce quality goods and services for the upper-class.
The lower-class often form gangs as a means to survive in a system that offers no other
alternatives for them to reach the American dream. Other classes in stable areas commit
crime because the economic system excludes them from advancement. The middle-class youth
also face problems such as alienation of individuals, the competitive struggle, and the
absence of human feelings, all of which are aspects of capitalism, contribute to
middle-class delinquency.
Thus, conflict theory can be used to show not only do the poor commit crimes, but also
that the so called privileged fall into patterns of criminal activity due to some of the
same capitalistic pressures.
Many critics of social theory feel that it lack empirical verification and have been
historical and theoretical. "When Marxist theories of deviance are tested they lack the
specific propositions sociologists require to test theories properly."(senna, page 234)
Others dispute the claims that the crimes of the rich are worst than those of the poor.
Criminal activity and immoral behavior occur on every social level.
Can a correlation between crime rates and social class be found in the non-theoretical
world? According to a study done by Mary Lynn McDonald there is a direct correlation
between social class and delinquency. She used a four-fold classification of social
class: upper middle, lower middle, upper working, and lower working. She then went
through several different categories of crime: serious theft, damage, violent, petty
theft, and general misconduct.
In each of the categories there was a higher admission to committing these crimes from
upper working and lower working boys than the middle class boys. The gap grew even more
wider when a two-fold classification was used grouping the working-class boys together
and the middle-class boys. "There are differences between the social classes in rates of
admitted delinquency, measured several ways, consistently showing higher rates on the
part of the working-class boy." (McDonald, page 98)
Richard Quinney see's criminal justice as a principle feature of the modern advanced
capitalist society. The concept of injustice has evolved with the development of
capitalism. As economic development goes through different stages the notion of justice
gets tied to the basis of production securing the existing order. Capitalist justice
regulates the struggle between classes in developing capitalism. "Justice in a capitalist
society, today as always, is an ideological and practical instrument in class struggle."
(Quinney, Page 2)
Justice is to be applied to individual cases, but the general objective is for the
promotion of social order. The healthy order becomes one that benefits the capitalist
class. Justice in the capitalist society equals the idea of equal justice with the
formulation and administration of positive law. Capitalist justice is then made concrete
in the establishment of the legal order. Quinney puts it this way, "Capitalist justice is
by the capitalist class, for the capitalist class, and against the working class." (
Quinney, Page 3)
Since the 1960's official and public attention has focused on rising crime and how it
should be controlled. To prevent crime, law enforcement officers must be better organized
and equipped, and more effective legislation must be passed. At this period a new
terminology was being born, criminal justice.
The criminal justice movement is thus understood as a state-initiated and state-
supported effort to rationalize mechanisms of social control. The system developed is one
in which can be modified periodically as problems created by capitalism arise. The state
also makes sure the citizens participate in crime control by having crime watches in the
communities and citizen patrols.
The concept of justice serves the larger purpose of providing a standard by which to
judge our concrete actions. Quinney poses the question, "Is justice necessary in Marxist
theory and practice?" (Quinney, page 27) Marx is seen to have avoided the use of justice
as terminology. The whole notion of justice was seen as a way of mystifying the actual
operation of capitalism.
The problem with the concept of justice is that it is fundamentally a juridical or legal
concept. Thus, the concept of justice is restricted to rational standards by which laws,
social institutions, and human actions are judged. In this society human life is to be
understood in terms of productive forces and relations of society, and not with the state
as an expression of the prevailing mode of production.
When a system is oppressive the term "unjust" misses the larger design. The terminology
of justice limits the understanding, and blinds the citizens of the capitalist society to
the truth that oppression does exist in this structure. Apolitical economy based on
increasing capital is bond for class struggle between the working class and the owners.
The ironic thing about capitalism is that the capitalist class needs the expansion of
productivity from the workers to gain a surplus value.
The dynamics of capitalism is the struggle between classes. "The principle classes of any
capital society, at the various stages of development, are the classes whose
interrelations determine the essence of the mode of production." (Afanassyev, page 66)
The composition of the principle classes has been undergoing changes in recent decades of
capitalist development. These changes have come about due to modern scientific and
technological advances and with new demands of capitalist accumulation.
The most important thing however in the development of advanced capitalism is the
expansion of the labor class. The changes in the labor force from manual to clerical
changes the class structure of advanced capitalism. However, the capitalist class is also
divided into several fractions. Two major fractions are those who own and control the
units of the economy as opposed to those whose holdings are less than that of the
uppermost sector of the class. The upper division, the "monopoly sector," owns the large
corporations and financial institutions. These capitalist of the upper divisions control
and influence most if not all of the world's economy. This is only one percent of the
population, whereas, eighty percent are in the working class, but the upper division
weald all the power.
Once someone resists the notion that such a small portion of the population should hold
all the power they are immediately labeled as being criminal an enemy of the state.
Instead of an enemy they were only standing up and speaking out against the oppression of
capitalism and the task becomes a political awaking of the people about the oppression of
the power that be. Politically conscious action in such a fashion becomes a vital part of
the class struggle and the problem lies in developing a revolutionary consciousness among
those who resist capitalist conditions.
The social problems generated by the capitalist system are increased with further
development of capitalism and the class struggle becomes regulated by the state. Policies
of control are implemented in an attempt to regulate conflicts that can otherwise be
changed by social and economic reforms. The political economy is entertained with the
political economy of criminal justice and the capitalist expands its resources on
programs to secure the order. These programs are designed to keep "social peace" among
the employed and underprivileged citizens.
Welfare and law enforcement are the primary forms of the state's social expenses that
repress action against the existing order and the criminal justice system becomes the
guardian of the capitalist system. Instead of solving the problems of crime the attention
turns to how much crime can society afford and to reduce crime would change beyond
recognition the capitalist system. Crime becomes the price the capitalist would pay for
capitalism, unfortunately all citizens end up paying the price.
The future of the criminal justice system is that it continues to be developed by the
state and the upper-class as a way of controlling the middle-class and the lower-class.
Criminal justice is mixed with traditional conservatism and liberal approaches to social
problems. As these problems grow the political expressions by the citizens grow smaller
and smaller and the strength of the state grows stronger and stronger. The irony lies in
that strengthening the criminal justice system only strengthens what facilitates crime in
the first place.
Criminal Justice ceases to be the solution to crime and in order to move beyond it we
must move beyond capitalism and satisfy the needs of the entire working class. Social
conflict theory deals with this critical dilemma in our society oppression and examines
the social controls placed on society by the ruling class. 
Bibliography
McDonald, Lynn. Social Class and Delinquency. Connecticut: Archon, 1969
Quinney, Richard. Class, State, and Crime. New York: Longman, 1977
Quinney, Richard. The Social Reality of Crime. Boston: Little, Brown 1970
Savitz, Leonard and Marvin Wolfgang. The Sociology of Crime and Delinquency. New York:
John Wiley and Sons, 1970
Senna, Joseph and Larry Siegel. Juvenile Delinquency Theory, Practice, and Law. New York:
West Publishing, 1994