Conflict Theory and Marxist Criminology
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1
What is the central premise of conflict theory in criminology?
Crime definitions and criminal justice practices are influenced by unequal power, competing interests, and conflicts among social groups.
2
How does conflict theory differ from consensus theory?
Consensus theory emphasizes shared values underlying law, while conflict theory emphasizes competing interests and unequal influence over lawmaking and enforcement.
3
Who is the principal historical thinker associated with Marxist conflict theory?
Karl Marx.
4
Who collaborated with Karl Marx in developing major works of Marxist social theory?
Friedrich Engels.
5
What is historical materialism?
A Marxist framework explaining historical social change through material economic conditions, production relations, and class conflict.
6
What is the bourgeoisie in classical Marxist theory?
The class that owns or controls the major means of production in capitalist society.
7
What is the proletariat in classical Marxist theory?
The class that primarily earns a living by selling labor rather than owning the major means of production.
8
What are the means of production in Marxist analysis?
The resources, tools, facilities, and technologies used to produce goods and services.
9
What are relations of production?
The social and economic relationships through which production is organized, including ownership, labor, and control.
10
What is class conflict?
Competition or struggle between social classes whose economic interests and positions differ.
11
What is the economic base in the Marxist base-superstructure model?
The productive forces and relations of production that organize economic life.
12
What is the superstructure in Marxist theory?
Social institutions and ideas, including law, politics, and ideology, that interact with the economic organization of society.
13
What is ideology in critical criminological analysis?
A system of beliefs and representations that may support, challenge, or legitimize existing social arrangements and power relations.
14
What is false consciousness in Marxist thought?
A concept describing beliefs that obscure underlying class relationships or material interests.
15
What is alienation in Marxist social theory?
Estrangement from one's labor, its products, other people, or aspects of human potential under particular social arrangements.
16
What is the conflict perspective on criminal law?
Criminal law can reflect struggles among groups with unequal power to define and regulate conduct.
17
What is criminalization?
The process through which conduct becomes legally defined as a criminal offense.
18
What is decriminalization?
The removal of criminal penalties or criminal status from conduct through legal change.
19
Why do conflict theorists examine who influences criminal legislation?
Because political and economic power may affect which harms are criminalized and which interests receive legal protection.
20
What is critical criminology?
A broad family of approaches examining crime and punishment in relation to power, inequality, institutions, and social structures.
21
What is Marxist criminology?
A perspective analyzing crime, criminal law, and punishment in relation to capitalism, class relations, and economic inequality.
22
What is instrumental Marxism in criminological analysis?
An approach portraying state institutions and law as instruments that can be directly used by powerful economic interests.
23
What is structural Marxism in criminological analysis?
An approach emphasizing how state institutions and law can reproduce capitalist social relations even without direct control by individual capitalists.
24
What is the principal difference between instrumental and structural Marxist explanations of law?
Instrumental approaches emphasize direct influence by powerful actors, while structural approaches emphasize broader institutional functions and constraints.
25
Who wrote The Social Reality of Crime in 1970?
Richard Quinney.
26
What is Richard Quinney's social reality of crime perspective?
A conflict-oriented framework examining how crime definitions are created, applied, and experienced through social and political relationships.
27
According to Quinney's conflict perspective, why are definitions of crime socially significant?
They reflect institutional decisions about which behaviors are prohibited and how those prohibitions are enforced.
28
Who developed a conflict perspective emphasizing differential access to power among social groups in Theoretical Criminology?
George B. Vold.
29
What is George Vold's group conflict theory?
A perspective proposing that organized groups compete to protect their interests and may seek laws favorable to their positions.
30
What is the key distinction between Vold's group conflict theory and explicitly Marxist criminology?
Vold emphasizes competition among diverse interest groups, while Marxist approaches place greater emphasis on class and economic relations.
31
Who is associated with research on law, power, and the social organization of criminal conduct, including the study of vagrancy laws?
William J. Chambliss.
32
What is the significance of Chambliss's analysis of historical vagrancy laws?
It examined how legal definitions and enforcement could serve changing labor and economic interests.
33
What is the main lesson of Chambliss's study The Saints and the Roughnecks?
Social class, reputation, visibility, and official reactions can influence how similar youth misconduct is perceived and handled.
34
What is selective enforcement?
The unequal application of legal rules to comparable conduct or individuals, whether because of policy, discretion, bias, or other factors.
35
What is the difference between lawful enforcement discretion and discriminatory enforcement?
Lawful discretion uses legitimate, consistent criteria; discriminatory enforcement improperly relies on prohibited or unjustified distinctions.
36
What is differential criminalization?
The possibility that comparable forms of harmful conduct receive different legal treatment because of social, political, or economic factors.
37
What is the conflict perspective on corporate crime?
It examines how organizational power, economic interests, and regulatory arrangements may influence corporate offending and accountability.
38
What is the conflict perspective on street crime?
It examines how structural inequality, social exclusion, policing practices, and legal responses shape patterns of offending and punishment.
39
Why does a conflict explanation of unequal enforcement not automatically establish discrimination in a particular case?
A case-specific conclusion requires evidence about relevant circumstances, comparable cases, decisions, and applicable legal standards.
40
What is the difference between inequality and inequity in criminal justice analysis?
Inequality describes differences in outcomes or treatment, while inequity refers to differences considered unjust or unfair under relevant standards.
41
What is the role of empirical research in evaluating conflict theories?
To test claims about power, legal definitions, enforcement patterns, and institutional outcomes rather than assuming every disparity has the same cause.
42
Scenario: A powerful industry successfully lobbies to weaken criminal penalties for conduct that creates substantial public harm. Which perspective would focus on this process?
Conflict criminology, particularly analysis of political and economic influence over criminalization.
43
Scenario: Two groups commit comparable violations, but authorities consistently investigate only the politically weaker group without a legitimate justification. Which concept is illustrated?
Selective enforcement influenced by unequal power.
44
Scenario: A law is enacted after competing business groups lobby to protect their economic interests. Which theorist's approach is particularly relevant?
George Vold's group conflict theory.
45
Scenario: A researcher examines whether criminal laws serve broader economic structures even when no business owner directly controls legislators. Which perspective applies?
Structural Marxist criminology.
46
Scenario: A company executive directly pressures officials to protect the company's interests through criminal legislation. Which perspective emphasizes this mechanism?
Instrumental Marxist criminology.
47
Scenario: Two youth groups engage in similar misconduct, but one receives informal warnings while the other is repeatedly arrested because of reputation and social position. Which classic study is relevant?
William Chambliss's The Saints and the Roughnecks.
48
Scenario: A researcher finds unequal arrest rates between neighborhoods. What additional information is necessary before concluding that enforcement is discriminatory?
Relevant offense patterns, exposure, reporting, policing practices, comparable cases, legal criteria, and potential confounding factors.
49
What is a major criticism of economic reductionism in conflict criminology?
Explaining crime and law almost entirely through economic class may overlook culture, individual agency, gender, race, institutions, and other independent influences.
50
What is the central contribution of conflict criminology to the study of criminal justice?
It directs attention to how power and inequality can shape legal definitions, enforcement priorities, institutional practices, and punishment.
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