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Marxism AC 2.3 - Coggle Diagram
Marxism AC 2.3
Theory
Karl Marx (founder) says that capitalism is criminogenic, meaning that it encourages crime.
Marxism looks at society as a whole and tends to ignore the individual differences (like staring at the big picture and not the little things in that picture)
Society is in conflict because the ruling class (economically powerful) dominate and the working class are oppressed and exploited.
key terms
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Capitalist society - A society which puts profit in the hands of those who own the ‘means of production’.
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According to Marx, society can generally be split into two Social Classes, the Bourgeoisie and the Proletariat.
Social structure
According to Marxists we live in a CAPITALIST society, this is where people gain and keep their own wealth; where we have two classes- the rich and the poor.
We also have FREE MARKET, where businesses compete for consumers by being the best/cheapest. Big businesses tend to get bigger and keep all the wealth and power.
Marxists say that capitalism is BAD, that we should abolish it and cause a REVOLUTION.
They think we should get rid of money and status and that everyone works for the good of society as a whole. This is called COMMUNISM.
Capitalist society
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Class distinctions: upper class, middle class and working class
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When people compete against one another, they achieve greater things
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Communist society
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When people work together as equals, they achieve greater things
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Crime is criminogenic
Criminogenic = (of a system, situation, or place) causing or likely to cause criminal behaviour.
Therefore, a capitalist structure causes crime.
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According to Marxists, Capitalism:
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Any economic crime (crime resulting in financial gain) can be used as a supporting example e.g. Burglary
evaluation
Strength
P. Marxists argue that capitalism is criminogenic which means it creates crime. This is a point of view supported by other theorists and has current examples.
E. For example, Merton’s Strain Theory supports this point of view by explaining how blocked opportunities lead to crime. Marxists argue that capitalism leads to consumerism which motivates people to commit these crimes.
E. Therefore, this is a strength of marxism in explaining the causes of criminality because its support from other theories lends credibility to it as an explanation of crime. It is also supported by real life examples, such as the looting during the 2011 London Riots.