Realism

Left Realism

• LR’s are socialists• Jock Young – now where have we heard that

name before????• Realised he needed to take crime seriously.

After all most victims of crime were the working class.

• Developed in response to the influence of right realism on government policy

In response to Marxism“We need practical strategies for reducing

crime in the here and now, rather than waiting for a revolution and a classless

socialist utopia to abolish crime.”

• LR’s agree that society is an unequal capitalist one

• However they believe in reform rather than revolution. They believe in gradual social change rather than the violent overthrow of capitalism as the way to achieve greater equality

Taking crime seriously• LR’s criticise other Sociologists for not taking

crime seriously.• Traditional Marxists- concentrate on crimes of

powerful but neglect WC crime and its effects• Neo-Marxists- romanticise WC criminals whereas

in reality they mostly victimise other WC people• Labelling Theorists- see criminals as the victims

of labelling. LR’s argue that this neglects the real victims

Taking Crime seriously involves recognising that:• There is an aetiological crisis (crisis of explanation) e.g.

labelling theory sees the rise as a social construction, not a reality. There is a lack of explanation for the fact that reported crime rises during both economic good times and bad times. LR’s argue the increase is too great to be explained in this way and is real

• Disadvantaged groups (ethnic/women/WC) have the greatest fear of crime and it has the greatest effect on their lives. Less likely to find police take crime against them seriously

• The best way to reduce crime is to reduce the causes of crime.

Lea &Young (1984)The causes of crime

Relative Deprivation

Subculture Marginalisation

Summarise page 96

Late Modernity & Crime

• Young (2002) argues that in late modern society (since the 1970’s), the problem of WC crime is worse due to:

1. Harsher welfare policies, increased unemployment, job insecurity and poverty

2. Destabilisation of family and community life, weakening informal social controls.

What role have De-industrialisation and New Right government policies played on the increase of Crime?

• Greater inequality between rich and poor and the spread of free market values encouraging individualism have increased the sense of relative deprivation.

• Young- growing contrast between cultural inclusion and economic exclusion as a source of relative deprivation:

1. Media saturated late modern society promotes cultural inclusion: even poor have access to media’s materialistic, consumerist cultural messages

2. There is a greater emphasis on leisure, which stresses personal consumption and immediate gratification and leads to higher expectations for the ‘good life’

3. Despite ideology of meritocracy the poor are systematically excluded from opportunities to gain the ‘glittering prizes of wealthy society

• Young’s contrast between cultural inclusion and economic exclusion is very similar to Merton’s notion of anomie- that society creates crime by setting cultural goals (e.g. material wealth) while denying people the opportunity to achieve them by legitimate means e.g. Decent jobs

What other changes in modernity does Young note?

Page 97

So what methods do you think Left Realists advocate

in tackling crime?

Evaluation• LR has drawn attention to the reality of street crime

and its effects, esp. on victims from deprived groups. However it is criticised on several grounds:

1. It accepts the authorities definition of crime as being the street crimes of the poor and ignores the harms done to the poor by the powerful. Marxists argue that it fails to explain corporate crime (which is more harmful)

2. It over-predicts the amount of W/C crime: not everyone who experiences relative deprivation and marginalisation turns to crime

3. Understanding offenders motives requires qualitative data, but LR relies on quantitative data from victim studies.

4. Focusing on high crime inner city areas makes crime appear a greater problem than it is (unrepresentative view)

Create a table to compare LR and RR

LR RR Similarity or difference

Cause of crime

Explanations of crime

Solutions

Comparing LR ad RR Both see crime as a problem and fear of crime as rational Different ends of political spectrum- RR: neo-

conservative, LR: reformist socialists. Reflected in how they explain crime. RR blame lack of self control, LR blame structural inequalities and relative deprivation

Political differences reflected in their aims and solutions- RR prioritise social order achieved through a tough stance against offenders, LR prioritise justice through democratic policing and reforms to create greater equality

Quick Check Questions

Page 99

• Watch the following clip, try and explain the crime by using each of the following theories– Functionalism– Sub-Cultural Theory– Labelling Theory– Marxism

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFr7NnK-91U