A way of doing criminology that frames the problem in terms of class race gender culture and Radical Theory Influenced by Merton Sutherland and Lemert Radical Theory history Emergence in the 1970s Rebirth of Radicalism Marxism Decline of McCarthyism inequality racism Civil rights movement Anti war movement Women s rights feminism Rebirth of Radicalism Marxism Capitalism vs Socialism no discussion of the dark side of American capitalism such as poverty Marxist critiques of the U S social and economic system began to appear more reasonable Academic rebirth of American Marxism Critique of criminology neglect of the role that inequality and exploitation played in the formation of crime law and punishment and that exposed the class bias of criminology The real causes of crime are not found in defective individuals or disorganized communities Crime is a sociologically situated phenomenon and patterns of crime and punishment in a society reflect the social structural characteristics The key social structural feature of U S society is capitalism Marx and any search for the root of crime must begin with an analysis of capitalism Direct relationship between U S unemployment rates and crime rates Marxism Capitalists use political power to manipulate the legal and CJS to promote the interests of the capitalist class and to perpetuate its position of power Human labor adds value to a product Radical Theory Radical Theory Radical Theory Workers produce the wealth of capital for capitalists Workers are often replaced by machines cheap labor etc Radical Theory Focus on how the distribution of political and economic power in political society resulted in some harmful acts typically those committed by the poor being defined and treated as serious crime Other equally harmful acts typically committed by people in power are often either not defined as criminal or treated as minor technical offenses Radical Theory Criticisms of mainstream theories don t talk about economics 88 of crime don t talk about power differentials don t talk about social class gender race culture etc Radical Critical theories try to explain what traditional theories left out and include issues Solutions to crime aren t found in the criminal justice system outside the system Many actions committed by the elite cause far more physical and financial harm than street Orthodox mainstream criminology is dominated by an obsession with the behavior of poor people in rich countries the harmful behaviors of elites either escape criminalization or are punished lightly Economic system determines law Those who control the economic system determine the law Consensus theory best interest of the majority Are most laws in the best interest of the majority Some but many laws benefit big business economic interests relating to power class Radical Concept of Crime crime Radical Theory How the Pie is Sliced Wealth is more unequally distributed in the U S than any other developed country Home ownership is declining percent of Americans with private pensions is declining savings are dropping debt is climbing How the Pie is Sliced Richest 1 of Americans own as much as the combined wealth of the bottom 90 percent Globally Top 1 have 40 of global wealth Top 10 have 85 of global wealth Bottom 90 have 15 of global wealth Bottom 50 have 10 of global wealth How the Pie is Sliced United States Top 1 own 38 of wealth in U S Top 10 own 71 of wealth in U S Bottom 40 own 1 of wealth in U S What is Crime Financial Costs of Crime Serious street crime 20 billion year Business fraud 400 billion year Corporate crime 1 trillion year PLUS Inadequate emergency medical care Marketing of unsafe drugs Herbicides and pesticides Hazardous consumer products Corporate pollution of the environment Average loss from robbery burglary and larceny 700 offense Average loss from typical white collar crime 387 274 offense 550x more Human Costs of Crime 3 2 million unnecessary surgeries per year 5 billion 16 000 deaths Aggressive advertising of physically harmful pleasures such as alcohol tobacco Corporate versus Street Crime By the time we end class today about 3 Americans will have been murdered During that same time more than 5 Americans will die as a result of unhealthy or unsafe working conditions For every 2 citizens murdered by intimates or strangers more than 3 American workers are killed by the recklessness of their bosses and the indifference of the government Criminological Research 2000 2011 95 of articles in top criminology journals focused on street crime Only 3 percent addressed crimes committed by the powerful Speak and write as if theories based on street crime can explain ALL types of criminal behavior Examples Socially injurious behaviors that have escaped criminalization You won t find these in the UCR Violations of human rights due to racism sexism and imperialism Unsafe working conditions Inadequate child care Inadequate opportunities for employment and education Substandard housing and medical care Crimes of economic and political domination Pollution of the environment Price fixing Assassinations War making Evidence Breast cancer has been linked to dioxin and other chemicals not just diet and genetics elevated rates in women who work in chemical plants or near hazardous waste sites or drinking water contaminated with organochlorines Past 50 years breast cancer rates have increased dramatically almost everywhere in the industrialized world In 1960 1 in 20 women diagnosed in her lifetime In 2002 1 in 8 women diagnosed 1 6 million currently have breast cancer and each year 182 000 new cases 46 000 deaths per year Evidence Nestle Ford Pinto Big Tobacco Big Pharma Nike etc In your own backyard Environmental Crime in Corpus Christi If crimes by the powerful are so harmful why do we hear so little about them in comparison to street crime At the political level it has never been in the interests of the owners of capital to promote political policies that call attention to their own wrongdoing Our culture teaches us what to believe about crime from the time we are children The media bombards us with stories featuring lower income street criminals It s easier to believe that burglars robbers and drug dealers pose a greater threat to our well being than corporate criminals The more the criminal justice system focuses on street criminals as the source of harm and danger the more it appears as if they are the bulk if not the totality of the crime problem Difficult to