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BONGERS THEORY
Criminologists in the 1960s and 1970s found
traditional theories of crime intellectually sterile, andeven
somewhat dangerous. These theories seemedblind to the reality of
caitalist society, its ervasiveeconomic and racial ine!uality.
Central themes of critical criminology
The concets of ine!uality and ower are integral toany
understanding of crime and its control. "uilding onthe wor#s of
$arl %ar&, they note that caitalismenriches some and
imoverishes many, thus roducinga wide ga between the social
classes. The state,including the criminal law and criminal 'ustice
system(oerates to legitimate and rotect social arrangementsthat
benefit those rofiting from caitalism.
Crime is a olitical, not a value(free, concet.Traditional
criminology accets that crime is behaviorthat violates the law.
Critical criminology, however, thatwhat is and is not outlawed
reflects the ower structurein society. )n general, the in'urious
acts of the oor aredefined as crimes, but the in'urious acts of the
rich andowerful *sale of defective roducts, ollution of the
environment, e&osure of wor#ers to 'ob ha+ards andto&ic
agents, the affluent allowing disadvantagedchildren 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 caitalistclass. The
rich get richer and the oor get rison.
Caitalism is the root cause of criminal behavior. Thehuman needs
of the oor are ignored. )t creates a
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fertile environment for crimes by cororations.
The solution of crime is to create a more e!uitablesociety. They
should not be armchair criminologists butactivists engaged to
foster social 'ustice.
Capitalism and crimeCritical criminologists roose that caitalism
is theroot cause of criminal behavior. Their analysis,however, are
couched in general terms, with thebourgeois crime attributed to the
need for the caitalistclass to maintain its dominance and wor#ing
classcrime attributed to the dehumani+ing and
demorali+ingconditions of life under caitalism.
General analysesKarl Marx believed that in a caitalist system,
the
bourgeoisie *those who own the means of roduction(inevitably
e&loit the roletariat *wor#ers who do notown the means of
roduction.William Bonger -1916 offered the central thesis thatthe
caitalist mode of roduction breeds crime. The #eyro&imate cause
of criminality is the mental state ofegoism, whereas the social
sentiment of altruism
fosters ro(social relations. /goism is rooted ineconomic
relations, after all the basis of caitalism isruthless cometition
and the e&loitation of others inthe ursuit of individual
rofits."onger also recogni+es that caitalism creates crimeamong the
bourgeoisie. Crimes are a roduct of abourgeois environment that
inculcates the moralrincile that honesty is to be valued only so
long as it
does not interfere with ones advantage. urthermore,the oortunity
to commit these crimes undetected is
