BONGERS THEORY

Criminologists in the 1960s and 1970s found traditional theories of crime intellectually sterile, and even somewhat dangerous. These theories seemed blind to the reality of ca italist society, its ervasive economic and racial ine!uality. Central themes of critical criminology The conce ts of ine!uality and ower are integral to any understanding of crime and its control. "uilding on the wor#s of $arl %ar&, they note that ca italism enriches some and im overishes many, thus roducing a wide ga between the social classes. The state, including the criminal law and criminal 'ustice system( o erates to legitimate and rotect social arrangements that benefit those rofiting from ca italism. Crime is a olitical, not a value(free, conce t. Traditional criminology acce ts that crime is behavior that violates the law. Critical criminology, however, that what is and is not outlawed reflects the ower structure in society. )n general, the in'urious acts of the oor are defined as crimes, but the in'urious acts of the rich and owerful *sale of defective roducts, ollution of the environment, e& osure of wor#ers to 'ob ha+ards and to&ic agents, the affluent allowing disadvantaged children to go without health care( are not. ,s a defender of the e&isting social order, the criminal 'ustice system serves the interests of the ca italist class. The rich get richer and the oor get rison. Ca italism is the root cause of criminal behavior. The human needs of the oor are ignored. )t creates a

fertile environment for crimes by cor orations. The solution of crime is to create a more e!uitable society. They should not be armchair criminologists but activists engaged to foster social 'ustice. Capitalism and crime Critical criminologists ro ose that ca italism is the root cause of criminal behavior. Their analysis, however, are couched in general terms, with the bourgeois crime attributed to the need for the ca italist class to maintain its dominance and wor#ing class crime attributed to the dehumani+ing and demorali+ing conditions of life under ca italism. General analyses Karl Marx believed that in a ca italist system, the bourgeoisie *those who own the means of roduction( inevitably e& loit the roletariat *wor#ers who do not own the means of roduction. William Bonger -1916. offered the central thesis that the ca italist mode of roduction breeds crime. The #ey ro&imate cause of criminality is the mental state of egoism, whereas the social sentiment of altruism fosters ro(social relations. /goism is rooted in economic relations, after all the basis of ca italism is ruthless com etition and the e& loitation of others in the ursuit of individual rofits. "onger also recogni+es that ca italism creates crime among the bourgeoisie. Crimes are a roduct of a bourgeois environment that inculcates the moral rinci le that honesty is to be valued only so long as it does not interfere with ones advantage. 0urthermore, the o ortunity to commit these crimes undetected is

enormous. 1nder socialism, where the means of roduction are owned by the community, crimes would be discouraged