left realism

Left realismOn Crime and Deviance

The key figure is Jock Young.

Left realism developed because…

• There was a strong need to find a practical solution

for crime

• The influence of right realism on government policy

was strong

They believe society is an unequal, capitalist one. But,

they are reformist socialists, and so believe in a

gradual change, rather than a violent overthrow.

Taking crime seriously

• Left realists believe crime is a real problem which

particularly affects the disadvantaged groups. They

accuse other sociologists of not taking crime

seriously.Traditional Marxists Neo-Marxists Labelling Theorists

They only concentrate

on crimes of the

powerful, and neglect

working class crime

and it’s effects.

They romanticise

working class

criminals as Robin

Hoods, when they

victimise other

working class people,

not the rich.

They see working class

criminals as the victims of

labelling by social control

agents, and so neglect the

real victims of crime.

• Young says the increase in crime rates has led to

an aetiological crisis (a crisis in explanation of

crime). Other theorists deny the increase in crime is

real; they believe it is due to an increase in the

report of crime or labelling of the poor.

• Left realists say more people are reporting crime

because more people are falling victim to it.

evidence

• They use surveys as evidence. Local surveys

indicated more crime than official statistics. They

also showed that disadvantaged groups are more

likely to be victims, so they have a greater fear of

crime. However, they are less likely to report crime

which could be due to the fact that they are less

likely to have their problems dealt with by the police.

The causes of crime

Lea and Young identify three related causes of

crime…

• Relative deprivation

• Subculture

• Marginalisation

Relative deprivation

• They believe deprivation isn’t the direct cause – living

standards have risen since the 1950s, but so have

crime rates. Lea and Young explain this paradox that

society is more prosperous but more crime ridden.

They say the media and advertisements raise the

expectations of those who can’t afford material goods

and to obtain them, have to resort to crime.

• Runciman refers to how deprived someone feels in

relation to others or their own expectations. This leads

to crime in order to obtain what they feel they are

entitled to.

Relative deprivation

• Young says: “the lethal combination is relative

deprivation and individualism”

• This causes crime by encouraging the pursuit of self

interest at the expense of others. An increase in

individualism causes the disintegration of families

and communities by undermining the values of

mutual support and selflessness. This weakens the

informal controls that such groups exercise over

individuals, creating a spiral of increasing crime and

aggression.

subculture

• (Left realists owe much to Merton, Cloward and Ohlin and Cohen for

identifying this as a cause)

• For left realists, a subculture is a group’s collective

solution to the problem of relative deprivation.

Different groups produce different subcultural

responses to this problem. For example, some turn

to crime to close the ‘deprivation gap’, whilst others

find religion offers spiritual comfort and ‘theodicy of

disprivilege’ (Weber).

• They think subcultures still subscribe to the values

and goals of mainstream society but can’t achieve

them legitimately.

marginalisation

• Unlike workers, unemployed youths lack clear goals

and organisations to represent their interests. They

are marginalised and so have a sense of resentment

and frustration which they express through criminal

acts. Due to being powerless, they can’t improve

their position.

Late modernity, exclusion

and crime

• Young says we are now living in the stage of society where

instability, insecurity and exclusion make the problem of crime

worse. This contrasts to the 1950s/60s ‘Golden Age’ society

which had a general consensus.

• De-industrialisation has increased; many jobs were short-term,

low paid and insecure. These changes destabilised families

and community life which led to an increase in divorce rates

(as have New Right policies). This in turn led to an increase in

marginalisation and exclusion of those ‘at the bottom’.


and crimeMeanwhile, greater inequality between rich and poor and the spread of free market values encouraging individualism have increased since the sense of relative deprivation. Young also notes the growing contrast between cultural inclusion and economic inclusion as a source of relative deprivation…

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

• There is greater emphasis on leisure, which stresses personal consumption and immediate gratification.

• The poor are systematically excluded from opportunities to gain the ‘glittering prizes of a wealthy society’ despite the meritocracy ideology.


and crime

• Young’s contrast is similair to Merton’s ‘notion of anomie’ that

society creates crime by setting cultural goals but denying

people the opportunity to achieve them legitimately.

• Another trend is the relative deprivation is generalised

throughout society. There is widespread resentment at the

undeservedly high rewards that some receive. Also, there is

‘relative deprivation downwards’ where the middle class were

disciplined and had to work hard to succeed in their competitive

work environment and so resent the stereotypical underclass as

idle, irresponsible and hedonistic and see them as living off

undeserved state handouts.


and crimeThe result of this trend towards exclusion is that the amount and types of crime are changing in late modern society.

• Firstly, crime is more widespread and is found increasingly throughout the social structure.

• Crime is nastier; there has been an increase in ‘hate crime’ and it is often the result of relative deprivation downwards (e.g. racist attacks against asylum seekers)

• Reactions to crime by the public and the state are changing. Society is more diverse and there is less public consensus on right and wrong (blurred boundaries)

• Informal controls become less effective as families and communities disintegrate.

These factors make the public more intolerant and leads to demands for harsher formal controls.

Tackling crime

• Left realists also aim to devise solutions to the

problem of crime. They believe we must…

• Improve Policing and Control

• Deal with the Deeper Structural Cases of Crime

Policing and control

Kinsey, Lea and Young argue that police clear-up rates are too

low to act as a deterrent to crime. They also argue police spend

too little time investigating crime. They believe the public must

become more involved in determining the police’s priorities and

style of policing.(AO2 marks: Nottingham police have become the first to use an online rate system –

you can rate the police out of 5 stars).

The police depend on the public to provide them with crime

information, but they are losing public support, especially in inner

cities and amongst ethnic minorities and youth. So, the flow of

information dries up which means the police have resorted to

‘military policing’ (‘swamping’ areas and random stop and

searches). This results in a vicious circle… The public lose faith in

the police they don’t report crime the police swamp areas,

so certain people/communities feel victimised people don’t

report crime.

Policing and control

So, policing needs to be made more accountable to

local communities and deal with local concerns. Their

relationship with local communities needs to improve

by spending more time investigating crime and

changing their priorities.

However, left realists believe a ‘multi-agency’

approach is needed.

Tackling the structural

cases

Left realists thing the causes of crime lie in the

unequal structure of society and major structural

changes are needed.

Young says we must deal with the unequal

opportunities available to locals, the unfairness of

rewards and discrimination. To do this, we should

provide decent jobs for everyone, improve housing

and community facilities, be tolerant of diversity and

cease stereotyping.

Government policy

Left realists have had the most influence on

government policy and can be compared to New

Labour.

For example Labour’s firmer approach to hate crimes

(sexual assaults, domestic violence e.g.) echo left

realists concerns to protect vulnerable groups from

crime. Also, Labour’s ‘New Deal’ and anti-truancy

policies attempt to reverse the exclusion of the young

people who may be at risk of offending. But, Young

says these policies are nostalgic and doomed

attempts to recreate the 1950s ‘Golden Age’.

Government policy

However, the ‘New Deal’ introduced by New Labour

does not lead to secure, permanent jobs and ASBOs

don’t recreate good neighbourhoods or a sense of

community.

Young criticises the record of government including

New Labour. He says only symptoms have been dealt

with, not the underlying causes of crime.

Evaluation

• Henry and Milovanovic argue it accepts the authorities definition of crime

as being street crime committed by the poor.

• Marxists argue it ignores the powerful as actors of crime and corporate

crime.

• Interactionists say left realists only use quantitative data, and so can’t explain

motives behind crime

• They assume value consenus and that crime only occurs when this is broken

down,

• Not all those who experience relative deprivation commit crime.

• Their view is unrepresentative; by focusing on high-crime, inner city areas,

crime seems a bigger problem than it actually is.

comparing

Left Realism Right Realism

Similarities See crime as a real

problem and the fear

of it as rational.

Differences Blame structural

opportunities and

relative deprivation

Prioritise justice and

gender equality

Blame individual lack

of self control

Prioritise social order

and believe in tougher

punishments

left realism

Education