Exam 10: Conflict Theory

According to conflict theory, the whole process of lawmaking, lawbreaking, and law enforcement is implicated in the conflict among social, economic, and political interest groups.

Research has shown that there is considerable dissensus and disagreement in society regarding the wrongfulness of offenses such as public drunkenness and prostitution.

Both labeling and conflict theories emphasize the operation of power and discrimination in the criminal justice system.

Discuss social threat. As America becomes more diverse, how will social threat affect law and policy?

Akers and Sellers report that conflict theory receives support from the fact that most crime is intergroup-committed by members of one group against members of another group-rather than intragroup.

According to conflict theory, the state acts as a neutral party, mediating disputes between competing interest groups.

Utilizing conflict theory, what kind of policy changes could be implemented to reduce class inequality? How would doing so affect arrest and incarceration rates?

Law is differentiated from other types of social control by the fact that it is backed by the legitimate coercive authority of the political state.

Conflict theorists contend that, compared with socially advantaged groups, minorities, the poor, and the young are more likely to be arrested, prosecuted, convicted, and incarcerated for violations of law.

The view that the law furthers the greater public good is a cornerstone of functionalist theory.

Compare and contrast consensus and functionalist theory. What has research found when studying consensus theory?

The conflict approach does well as a general explanation of the enactment of the law and operation of the criminal justice system, but it does not do well as an explanation of criminal behavior.

The preponderance of evidence from research on arrest, prosecution, and conviction supports the conclusion that these decisions are influenced to a much greater degree by the race and class of the offender than by legal considerations.

Turk and Vold are noted for the view that the economic and political elite constitute a monolithic, all-powerful class that perpetually gets its way in the lawmaking process.

Unlike the consensus approach to law and criminal justice, conflict theory implies support for fair representation of differing interests and values in the law and nondiscrimination with regard to race, gender, and class in the criminal justice system.

Donald Black contends that where informal controls are weak, formal controls are also likely to be weak.

Research evidence supports the hypothesis in conflict theory that most crimes such as murder, theft, rape, and arson result from the clash of group interests.

Do you think people's behavior is controlled more by informal or formal social control? Discuss how your answer could be used to change the criminal justice system to reduce recidivism.

Informal social control and formal social control are inversely related.

The pluralistic conflict model, although accepting that the criminal law embodies common values, proposes that the criminal justice system is controlled by a powerful elite.