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Conflict Theory: The Sociological Perspectives Of Crime

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There are three perspectives of crime. To start, the conflict view derives from Karl Marx’s theory that the public’s “...disagreement on societal norms is reflected by their disparate positions based on their inequalities of wealth and power” (Barkan, 2006, p. 14). This means that crime occurs due to class conflict, or the division of the classes. According to the conflict theory, “ the law is an instrument that enables the wealthy to maintain their position of power and to control the behavior of those who oppose their ideas and values or who might rebel against the unequal distribution of wealth” (Siegel & Worrall, 2016, p. 42). In short, the laws are a social control (Siegel & Worrall, 2016). In the viewing of the popular films series, The Purge, there are multiple examples of crime being used as a …show more content…
In some cases, crime is necessary to create social change. For example, social change is exactly what Carmello and his group were trying to accomplish through their movement in The Purge: Anarchy. Their goal was to fight back against the unequal distribution of wealth and the privileges the upper class received from it (The Purge: Anarchy, 2014). According to the interactionist view, “the definition of crime is subjective to the contemporary values and morals of a society” (Siegel & Worrall, 2016, p. 43). This means that what we consider a crime can change with time and ideas as society progresses. Through social change, the definition of what a crime is can shift. According to Durkheim, from whom the consensus view is derived, crime serves the function of supporting social norms in a society. Criminal law is used to control behaviors that are destructive to societal norms and maintain the “peaceful functioning of society” (Siegel & Worrall, 2016, p. 42). So not only can crime function as a force for social change, it can also serve as reinforcement for current social

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