CHAPTER 2. THEORIES OF CRIME
People commit crimes for a variety of reasons. For example, due to an electrical-chemical problem inside the brain, some people may not be able to distinguish right from wrong. Other people claim that conflict arises when goals are defined but barriers are created that inhibit the ability of individuals to lawfully reach those goals. Others claim that crimes are committed simply because they are profitable. Others believe that people commit crimes because they are influenced by significant others to be deviant. If people know the difference between right and wrong, are people naturally good and taught to violate the law or are they naturally bad and must be motivated to obey the law? In short, there are a great many beliefs for why people commit crimes.
Historically, the consensus theory, which is based on the assumption that laws represent the views of the greatest normative consensus, has played a major role in understanding law and human behavior (Akers & Sellers, 2009). During the 1960s, however, the conflict theory, …show more content…
First, the conflict theory indicates that the people who control the resources have power and they pass laws to protect their own self-interests at the cost of other people who have less economic power. In other words, the people with governmental authority discount the interests of the less powerful people; this prevents the poor from being successful. Because the people who are in power control the social relationships of other institutions (e.g., educational, political, religious, and mass media groups), many institutions support the interests of the ruling class. For example, anti-prostitution laws have been passed because they reflect the self-interests of the ruling class, based upon their personal religious and moral convictions. Thus, crime is the result of social
People commit crimes for a variety of reasons. For example, due to an electrical-chemical problem inside the brain, some people may not be able to distinguish right from wrong. Other people claim that conflict arises when goals are defined but barriers are created that inhibit the ability of individuals to lawfully reach those goals. Others claim that crimes are committed simply because they are profitable. Others believe that people commit crimes because they are influenced by significant others to be deviant. If people know the difference between right and wrong, are people naturally good and taught to violate the law or are they naturally bad and must be motivated to obey the law? In short, there are a great many beliefs for why people commit crimes.
Historically, the consensus theory, which is based on the assumption that laws represent the views of the greatest normative consensus, has played a major role in understanding law and human behavior (Akers & Sellers, 2009). During the 1960s, however, the conflict theory, …show more content…
First, the conflict theory indicates that the people who control the resources have power and they pass laws to protect their own self-interests at the cost of other people who have less economic power. In other words, the people with governmental authority discount the interests of the less powerful people; this prevents the poor from being successful. Because the people who are in power control the social relationships of other institutions (e.g., educational, political, religious, and mass media groups), many institutions support the interests of the ruling class. For example, anti-prostitution laws have been passed because they reflect the self-interests of the ruling class, based upon their personal religious and moral convictions. Thus, crime is the result of social