Criminology Theories Patterns and

Typologies 11th
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CHAPTER EIGHT
Social Conflict, Critical Criminology, and
Restorative Justice

CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
After reading this chapter the student should be able to:

1. Be familiar with the ideas that underpin critical criminology

2. Trace the development of critical theory
3. Link globalization to crime and criminality
4. Define the concept of state (organized) crime
5. Be able to discuss the difference between structural theory and instrumental theory
6. Know the link between crime and social institutions
7. Be familiar with the critiques of critical criminology
8. Know some of the basic ideas of critical feminism
9. Explain the concept of left realism
10. Discuss how restorative justice is related to peacemaking criminology and
restorative justice

SUMMARY
 Chapter 8: Social Conflict, Critical Criminology, and Restorative Justice

In 1848, Karl Marx issued the Communist Manifesto identifying the economic
structures in society that control all human relations. According to Marx, class does not
refer to an attribute or characteristic of a person or a group; rather, it denotes position in
relation to others. One of his key concepts is that of surplus value – the laboring class
produces goods that exceed wages in value. Marx did not write on crime, but he
mentioned it, seeing a connection between criminality and the inequities found in the
capitalist system. Engels, a patron of Marx’s, portrayed crime as a function of social
demoralization in which workers, demoralized by capitalist society, are caught up in a
process that leads to crime and violence.
Conflict-based theories of crime are founded in the works of Willem Bonger, Ralf
Dahrendorf, and George Vold. Bonger argues that criminal law serves the will of the
dominant ruling class. The legal system discriminates against the poor by defending the
actions of the wealthy. The contribution of Ralf Dahrendorf is based on his idea that
modern society is organized into imperatively coordinated associations: 1) those that
possess authority and use it for social domination and 2) those that lack authority and are
dominated. Vold stated that crime can be explained by social conflict because criminal
acts are a consequence of direct contact between forces struggling to control society.
The social ferment of the 1960s gave birth to critical criminology. Critical
criminologists view crime as a political concept designed to protect the power and
position of the upper classes at the expense of the poor. Critical thinkers believe that the
key crime-producing element of modern corporate capitalism is the effort to create
surplus value. Today, critical criminologists devote their attention to a number of
important themes and concepts such as the misuse of power, the role of criminologists in
supporting the status quo and aiding in the oppression of the poor and powerless, the state
of the American political system, and the creation of an American empire abroad.
Concern about globalization has shifted the focus of critical inquiry to a world
perspective.
Critical criminology has two components: instrumental theory and structural theory.
The instrumental view holds that criminal law and the criminal justice system act solely
as instruments for controlling the poor, have-not members of society and that those who
wield economic power define illegal or criminal behavior. The goal of instrumental
theorists is to demystify law and justice. The structural view argues that the relationship
between law and capitalism is unidirectional and is not always working for the rich and
against the poor. The law is not the exclusive domain of the rich but it is used to keep the
free enterprise system operating efficiently, and anyone, worker or owner, who rocks the
boat is targeted for sanction.
Contemporary forms of critical theory include left realism, which rejects the utopian
views of “idealistic” critical criminologists who portray street criminals as
revolutionaries. Their approach is that street criminals prey on the poor and
disenfranchised, so the poor are doubly abused: first by the capitalist system and then by
members of their own class. This approach closely resembles relative deprivation. Left
realists argue that crime victims in all classes deserve protection and that crime control
efforts should reflect community needs. Rather than viewing police as evil tools of
capitalism, left realists wish that police would reduce their use of force and increase their
sensitivity to the public.

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Critical feminist theory views gender inequality as stemming from the unequal
power of men and women in a capitalist society, which leads to the exploitation of
women by fathers and husbands. Patriarchy, or male supremacy, has been and continues
to be supported by capitalists and sustains female oppression in the home and in the
workplace. According to critical feminism, exploitation triggers the onset of female
delinquent and deviant behavior. Power–control theory states that crime and delinquency
rates are a function of two factors: class position (power) and family functions (control).
Parents’ work experiences and class positions influence the criminality of children. In
paternalistic families, mothers are expected to control the behavior of their daughters and
grant greater freedom to sons. Unhappy or dissatisfied girls seek out risky role exit
behaviors. On the other hand, egalitarian families are ones in which husbands and wives
share similar positions of power at home and at work. Daughters gain a type of freedom
that reflects reduced parental control, so the law-violating behavior of daughters more
closely mirrors their brothers’ behavior.
Peacemaking criminology promotes a peaceful, just society. Advocates support such
policies as mediation and conflict resolution. Reintegrative shaming theory argues that
shame is a powerful tool of informal social control. In Braithwait’s vision of reintegrative
shaming, disapproval is extended to the offenders’ evil deeds and offenders begin to
understand and recognize their wrongdoings and shame themselves. To be reintegrative,
shaming must be brief and controlled and then followed by ceremonies of forgiveness,
apology, and repentance.
Restorative justice is another peacemaking approach. The concept of restorative
justice is often hard to define because it encompasses a variety of practices such as victim
offender restoration programs and sentencing circles. A number of restorative justice
experts have suggested that restorative justice should be centered on the principle of
balance. Programs must balance concern for all parties – victim, community, and
offender. Therefore, most conflicts are better settled in the community than in a court.
Restorative justice is now being embraced on many levels without our society and justice
system and while it holds great promise there exist obstacles that must be overcome for
such programs to be successful and productive.

CHAPTER OUTLINE
I. Introduction
A. Social conflict theorists view crime as a function of social conflict and economic
rivalry.
B. Marxist criminologists or radical criminologists, but using the generic term
critical criminologists and the field of study as critical criminology
C. Critical criminologists
1. Reject that law is designed to maintain a tranquil, fair society and that
criminals are malevolent people who wish to trample the rights of others.
2. Consider acts of racism, sexism, imperialism, unsafe working conditions,
inadequate child care, substandard housing, pollution, and war-making to be
“true crimes.”
D. Critical criminologists are concerned with:

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1. The role government plays in creating a crimogenic environment

2. The relationship between personal or group power and the shaping of
criminal law
3. The prevalence of bias in justice system operations
4. The relationship between a capitalist free-enterprise economy and
crime rates

II. The Historical Development of Critical Criminology

A. Roots can be traced to Karl Marx.
B. Karl Marx identified the economic structures in society that control all human
relations.
C. Marx’s view of society shaped by the economic trends of his time – lived in an
era of unrestrained capitalist expansion.
D. Met Friedrich Engels in Paris. They joined the communist league.
E. Productive Forces and Productive Relations
1. Marx published his famous communist manifesto in 1848.
a. Focused on the economic conditions perpetuated by the capitalist
system
b. Development had turned workers into a dehumanized mass that
merely existed at the mercy of the capitalist employers.
c. Identified the economic structures in society that control all human
relations
2. Production has two components:
a. Productive forces - technology, energy sources and material resources
b. Productive relations - the relationships that exist among the people
producing goods and services
3. Most important relations in industrial culture between:
a. Capitalist bourgeoisie - the owners of production
b. Proletariat - people who do the actual work
c. Lumpen proletariat - the bottom of society - the fringe members who
produce nothing and live off the work of others
4. The Marxist view of class - does not refer to an attribute or characteristic of
a person or group; rather, it denotes one’s position in relation to others.
a. Not necessary to have wealth or prestige to be part of capitalist
class; it is more important to have the power to exploit.
5. Societies and their structures are not stable; thus they can change through
slow evolution or sudden violence.
6. Marx used the dialectic method to conclude that when conditions became
bad enough, the oppressed would rise up to fight the owners of the means of
production and eventually replace them.
a. In the end, the capitalist system will destroy itself.
E. A Marxist Vision of Crime
1. Marx did not write a great deal on the subject of crime.
2. Viewed crime as the product of law enforcement policies akin to a labeling
process theory.

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3. Saw a connection between criminality and the inequities found in the

capitalist system.
4. Engles portrayed crime as a function of social demoralization – a collapse
of people’s humanity reflecting a decline in society.
5. Concept of social conflict first applied to criminology by Willem Bonger,
Ralf Darendorf, and George Vold.
6. The Contribution of Willem Bonger
a. Society is divided into haves and have-nots due to the system of
production that is in place.
b. Every society is divided into a ruling class and an inferior class – the
penal law serves the will of the ruling class.
c. The legal system discriminates against the poor by defending the
actions of the wealthy and it is the proletariat who are deprived.
7. The Contribution of Ralf Dahrendorf
a. Argued that modern society is organized into imperatively coordinated
associations.
i. Those who posses authority and use it for domination and
those who lack authority and are dominated
b. Society is a plurality of competing interest groups.
c. Proposed a unified conflict theory of human behavior:
i. Social change is everywhere, all of the time.
ii. Social conflict is everywhere, all of the time.
iii. Every element in society contributes to its disintegration and
change.
iv. Others base every society on the coercion of some of its
members.
8. The Contribution of George Vold
a. Laws are created by politically-oriented groups that seek the
government’s assistance to help them defend their rights and protect
their interests.
d. Criminal acts are a consequence of direct contact between forces
struggling to control society.

III. Creating a Critical Criminology

A. The social ferment of the 1960s gave rise to critical criminology.
1. National Deviancy Conference
2. 1973: Taylor, Walton, and Young publish The New Criminology
a. Tradition for critical criminologist to turn attention to the field itself,
questioning the role criminology plays in supporting the status quo and
aiding in the oppression of the poor and powerless.
3. Widespread unrest of 1960s and 1970s influences critical scholars
4. William Chambliss and Robert Seidman wrote Law, Order and Power -
documented how the justice system protects the rich and powerful.
a. Documented how the justice system protects the rich and powerful.
b. Showed how the definitions of crime favor those who control the
justice system

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5. According to Richard Quinney and his The Social Reality of Crime, laws
represent the interests of those who hold power in society.
a. Crime is a function of power relations and an inevitable result of social
conflict.
B. Contemporary Critical Criminology
1. Today, critical criminologists devote attention to:
a. The use and misuse of power
b. Critiquing the field of criminology
c. The current state of the American political system and the creation of
an American empire abroad
d. The rapid buildup of the prison system
e. Global capitalism

IV. How Critical Criminologists Define Crime

A. Crime is a political concept designed to protect the power and position of the
upper classes at the expense of the poor.
B. Criminals are not social misfits. Rather, they are products of the society and its
economic system.
D. Societies and crime
1. Each society produces its own types and amounts of crime.
2. Each society has its own distinctive ways of dealing with criminal behavior.
3. Each society gets the amount and type of crime it deserves.
4. Thus, criminality is a function of social and economic organization.
5. Those with economic and political power control the definition of crime and
the manner in which laws are enforced.
6. The only crimes available to the poor are the severely sanctioned ‘street
crimes.’
7. The rich are insulated from street crimes.

V. How Critical Criminologists View the Cause of Crime

A. Critical thinkers believe the key crime-producing element of modern corporate
capitalism is the effort to create surplus value.
1. As the rate of surplus value increases, more people are displaced from
productive relationships and the size of the marginal population increases.
3. As more people are thrust outside the economic mainstream, a condition
referred to as marginalization, a larger portion of the population is forced to
live in areas conducive to crime.
4. Once people are marginalized, their commitment to the system declines,
weakening bonds to society.
B. Globalization
1. The process of creating transnational markets and political and legal
systems.
a. Globalization has changed the traditional ways of doing business.
b. People move from nation to nation seeking jobs.
2. Globalization began when large companies established themselves in
foreign markets.

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3. Some believe globalization can improve the standard of living in third

world nations by providing jobs and training.
a. Critical theorists question the altruism of multinational corporations.
4. Globalization may have a profound impact on the concept of surplus value.
a. High-paid US workers replaced by foreign workers.

VI. Instrumental vs. Structural Theory

A. Instrumental theorists - view the criminal justice system as a method of
controlling the poor, have-not members of society; the state and its agencies of
control (police, courts, corrections) are the tools of the capitalists.
B. Structural theorists - the relationship between law and capitalism is
unidirectional, not always working for the rich and against the poor.
C. Instrumental theory
1. The poor may or may not commit more crimes than the rich, but they
are arrested and punished more often.
2. Essential to demystify law and justice - to unmask its true purpose
D. Structural theory
1. Law is designed to keep the free enterprise system operating efficiently, and
anyone, worker or owner, who rocks the boat is targeted for sanction.
a. Long prison sentences given to corporate offenders are a warning to
capitalists that they must play by the rules.

VII. Research on Critical Criminology

A. Critical criminologists believe the traditional approach of measuring research
subjects is antihuman and insensitive.
1. Critical criminologists believe mainstream research is designed to unmask
the weak and powerless members of society so they can be better dealt with
by the legal system.
2. Critical criminologists are more likely to examine historical trends and
patterns than they are to do surveys and crunch numbers.
3. Empirical research is not considered totally incompatible.

VIII. Critique of Critical Criminology

A. Sharply criticized by some members of the criminological mainsteam.
1. “Hot air, heat, but no real light”
2. Have attacked the substance of critical thought
3. Some charge that critical criminologists unfairly neglect the efforts of
the capitalist system to regulate itself.
4. Claim that critical thinkers refuse to address the problems that exist in
socialist countries.

IX. Emerging Forms of Critical Criminology

A. Left Realism
1. Connected to British scholars John Lea and Jock Young
2. Experiencing poverty in the midst of plenty creates discontent and breeds
crime.

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a. Relative deprivation equals discontent; discontent plus lack of political

solution equals crime.
3. Street criminals prey on the poor and disenfranchised, thus making the poor
doubly abused, first by the capitalist system and then by members of their
own class.
4. Crime protection
a. Crime victims in all classes need and deserve protection.
b. Do not view police as evil tools of capitalism.
c. Wish that police would reduce their use of force and increase their
sensitivity to the public.
d. Want police to be more responsive to community needs, to end racial
profiling, and improve efforts at self-regulation via citizen review boards.
e. Preemptive deterrence: community efforts eliminate or reduce crime
before police involvement becomes necessary.
5. Left realism has been criticized by critical thinkers as legitimizing the
existing power structure.
a. Left realists counter that it is unrealistic to speak of a socialist state
lacking in police or a system of laws and justice.
B. Critical Feminist Theory
1. Critical feminists - view gender inequality as a function of female
exploitation by men.
a. Patriarchy, or male supremacy, continues to be supported by capitalists.
b. Unequal power of men and women in a capitalist society leads to the
exploitation of women by fathers and husbands.
c. Dual exploitation of women in the household and labor force
2. Patriarchy and crime - link criminal behavior patterns to the gender conflict
created by the economic and social struggles common in post-industrial
societies.
a. Double marginality - capitalists control the labor of workers, while men
control women both economically and biologically.
b. Females in a capitalist society commit fewer crimes than males; they
are isolated in families and have fewer opportunities to commit elite
deviance.
c. Female crime rates restricted due to patriarchal nature of the capitalist
system that renders them powerless
i. Powerless lower-class women forced to commit less serious
acts
ii. Powerlessness also increases the likelihood women will
become victims of violent acts.
d. Female victimization should decline as women’s place in society is
elevated.
i. 2004 cross-national study: where the educational and
occupational status of women is generally high, sexual
violence rates are significantly lower.

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ii. Messerschmidt’s Masculinities and Crime: Crime is a vehicle

for men to “do gender.” Violence toward women – an
economical way to demonstrate manhood.
e. Men achieve masculinity at the expense of women.
i. Treating the weakest member of the group as “woman-like”
ii. Begins in childhood playgroups and continues into adulthood
and marriage
3. Exploitation and criminality
a. Victimization of girls is the result of male socialization
b. Exploitation triggers the onset of female delinquency and deviant
behavior. Girls may be reacting to abuse suffered at home or school.
c. Girls who get into trouble viewed as having violated the “feminine
norm.”
4. Power-Control Theory
a. John Hagan and associates.
b. Crime and delinquency are a function of:
i. Class position (power)
ii. Family functions (control)
c. Parents reproduce the power relationships they hold in the workplace.
d. Paternalistic families - fathers assume the traditional role of
breadwinners, while mothers tend to have menial jobs or remain at
home to supervise domestic matters.
i. Role exit behaviors – desperate girls are likely to run away or
commit suicide.
e. Egalitarian families - the husband and wife share similar positions of
power at home and in the workplace.
i. Daughters gain a freedom that reflects reduced parental
control.
5. Evaluating power-control
a. Has received a great deal of attention because it encourages a new
approach to studying criminology (gender, class, family structure).
b. Not all research is supportive.
C. Peacemaking criminology
1. The main purpose of criminology is to promote a peaceful, just society.
2. Peacemakers view efforts of the state to punish and control as encouraging
rather than discouraging crime.
3. Sullivan: Mutual aid rather than coercive punishment is the key to a
harmonious society.
4. Advocates of peacemaking criminology try to find humanist solutions to crime
and other social problems; they advocate such polices as mediation and conflict
resolution (to repair what Sullivan referred to as “severed relationships.”)

X. Critical Theory and Public Policy

A. Conflict causes crime.
B. The Concept of Restorative Justice
1. Hard to define because it encompasses a variety of programs and practices.

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2. Howard Zehr
a. Address victims’ harm and needs, hold offenders accountable
b. Involve victims, offenders, and communities in the process of healing.
c. Core value of the process is respect.
3. Based on the principle of reducing social harm, restorative justice advocates
argue that old methods of punishment are a failure.
C. Reintegrative shaming
1. John Braithwaite's book Crime, Shame, and Reintegration
2. Shame - power tool of informal social control
a. In US, crime is not shameful and criminals view themselves as victims
of the justice system
b. Punishment comes at the hands of strangers (police, judges)
c. Shaming relies on the victim’s participation
d. Stigmatization - an ongoing process of degradation in which the
offender is branded as an evil person and cast out of society.
e. Reintegrative shaming - disapproval is extended to the offenders’ evil
deeds, while at the same time they are cast as respected people who can
be reaccepted by society.
D. The Process of Restoration
1. Redefines crime in terms of a conflict among the offender, the victim, and
the effected constituencies (families, schools, workplaces, etc.).
2. The resolution must take place within the context in which the conflict
originally occurred.
3. The restoration process
a. The offender is asked to recognize the injury caused and to accept
responsibility.
b. Involves turning the justice system into a healing process
c. Reconciliation is a big part of the restoration approach.
d. Effectiveness of justice ultimately depends on the stake a person has in
the community or a particular social group.
e. Involves a commitment to both monetary restitution and symbolic
reparation (an apology)
f. Involves a determination of community support and assistance for both
the victim and the offender.
4. Restoration programs
a. Sentencing circles – based on Native American circle ceremonies;
crime victims and their families are brought together with offenders
and their families in an effort to formulate a sanction that addresses the
needs of each party.
b. Restoration programs can take many forms.
d. Restorative justice is now being embraced on many levels in society
and the justice system – community, schools, police, courts.
5. Balanced and Restorative Justice (BARJ) - restorative justice should be
centered on the principle of balance.
a. Offender accountability
b. Competency development

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c. Community protection

XI. The Challenge of Restorative Justice

A. Concerns
1. Is it a political movement or a treatment process?
2. Programs must be wary of cultural and social differences found throughout
our heterogeneous society.
3. No single definition of what constitutes restorative justice
4. Must face difficult task of balancing needs victims and offenders
5. Benefits may only work in the short term while ignoring long-term
treatment needs.

XII. Summary

KEY TERMS
Antithesis – An opposing argument.

Capitalist Bourgeoisie – The owners of the means of production.

Communist Manifesto – In this document, Marx focused his attention on the economic
conditions perpetuated by the capitalist system. He stated that its development
had turned workers into a dehumanized mass who lived an existence that was at
the mercy of their capitalist employers.

Critical Criminologists – Researchers who view crime as a function of the capitalist

mode of production and not the social conflict that might occur in any society
regardless of its economic system.

Critical Criminology – The view that capitalism produces haves and have-nots, each
engaging in a particular branch of criminality. The mode of production shapes
social life. Because economic competitiveness is the essence of capitalism,
conflict increases and eventually destabilizes social interactions and the
individuals within them.

Critical Feminism – A theory that views gender inequality as stemming from the
unequal power of men and women in a capitalist society, which leads to the
exploitation of women by fathers and husbands. Under this system, women are
considered a commodity worth possessing, like land or money.

Demystify – To unmask the true purpose of law, justice, or other social institutions.

Dialectic Method – For every idea, or thesis, there exists an opposing argument, or
antithesis. Because neither position can ever be truly accepted, the result is a
merger of the two ideas, a synthesis. Marx adapted this analytic method for his
study of class struggle.

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Egalitarian Families – Families in which spouses share similar positions of power at

home and in the workplace.

Globalization – The process of creating transnational markets, politics, and legal systems
in an effort to form and sustain a global economy.

Imperatively Coordinated Associations – These associations are composed of two

groups: those who possess authority and use it for social domination and those
who lack authority and are dominated.

Instrumental Theory – The view that the law and justice system serve the powerful and
rich and enable them to impose their morality and standards of behavior on the
entire society.

Left Realism – An approach that views crime as a function of relative deprivation under
capitalism and that favors pragmatic, community-based crime prevention and
control.

Lumpen Proletariat – The fringe members at the bottom of society who produce
nothing and live, parasitically, off the work of others.
Marginalization – Displacement of workers, pushing them outside the economic and
social mainstream.

Paternalistic Families – Traditional family model in which fathers assume the role of
breadwinners, while mothers tend to have menial jobs or remain at home to
supervise domestic matters.

Patriarchal – A social construct in which men’s work is valued and women’s work is
devalued. This system, also known as male supremacy, has been and continues to
be supported by capitalists.

Peacemaking – An approach that considers punitive crime control strategies to be

counterproductive and favors the use of humanistic conflict resolution to prevent
and control crime.

Power-Control Theory – The view that gender differences in crime are a function of
economic power (class position, one- versus two-earner families) and parental
control (paternalistic versus egalitarian families).

Preemptive Deterrence – Efforts to prevent crime through community organization and

youth involvement.

Proletariat – The people who do the labor.

Productive Forces – Technology, energy sources, and material resources.

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Productive Relations – The relationships that exist among the people producing goods
and services.

Reintegrative Shaming – A method of correction that encourages offenders to confront

their misdeeds, experience shame because of the harm they caused, and then be
re-included in society.

Restorative Justice – Using humanistic, nonpunitive strategies to right wrongs and

restore social harmony.

Role Exit Behaviors – In order to escape from a stifling life in male-dominated families,
girls may try to break away by running away and/or even attempting suicide.
Sentencing Circle – A peacemaking technique in which offenders, victims, and other
community members are brought together in an effort to formulate a sanction that
addresses the needs of all.

Shame – The feeling people experience when they fail to meet the standards set for
themselves or that significant others have set for them.

Structural Theory – The view that holds the law is designed to keep the free enterprise
system operating efficiently, and anyone, worker or owner, who rocks the boat is
targeted for sanction.

Supranational criminology – comprising the study of war crimes, crimes against

humanity, and the penal system in which such crimes are prosecuted and tried

Surplus Value – The Marxist view that the laboring classes produce wealth that far
exceeds their wages and goes to the capitalist class as profits.

Synthesis – A merger of two opposing ideas.

Thesis – In the philosophy of Hegel, an original idea or thought.

DISCUSSION TOPICS
1. Divide the class into three groups. Have each group review one of the conflict
theorists: Bonger, Dahrendorf, or Vold. Compare and contrast the theorists, the
culture in which they lived, the economic times, and the relevance of their theories
in today’s culture.

2. Taking a recent case of a female offender that was featured in the local newspaper,
ask students to explain her offense as a radical feminist would. That is, examine the
extent to which the offender may have been disadvantaged by a patriarchal society
in her various educational, economic, and social endeavors. Was her crime a

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reflection of her less valued position in society? Is there any mention of the
offender being a past crime victim?

3. The peacemaking movement advocates for more “humanist solutions to crime.”

Break students into groups and have them consider whether or not, if victimized,
they would participate in a restorative justice program or a sentencing circle. Have
students compile their reasons for participation and non-participation and then ask
them to objectively consider the pros and cons of such humanist solutions.

STUDENT EXERCISES

1. Ask students to consider the recent mortgage crisis. How have the elements of this
crisis apply to the writings and beliefs of Karl Marx? Ask them to identify elements
that provide support for his ideas.

2. Divide the class into three groups. Have one group develop an outline of an ideal
family that would have non-delinquent children according to power control theory.
Ask the second group to outline the characteristics of a family that would be most
likely to have a delinquent daughter and have the third groups outline the
characteristics of a family that would be most likely to have a delinquent son.

3. Bring information to class on a local crime that has occurred in the community.
After having the students review the case, assign them to various roles that would
take part in a sentencing circle if the case were handled in that manner. Conduct a
mock sentencing circle where each student represents the interest for the role they
were assigned.

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