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Occupy Toronto Marxist Analysis

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Marxists, like William Chambliss, would argue that law is a weapon of social conflict used by the ruling classes for their own benefit. Drawing on Chambliss’ historical analysis of vagrancy laws in England, how might a Marxist scholar interpret the recent government action and court decision on Occupy Toronto?

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to argue that the law is influenced by elite classes and that the law rules in favour of these elites. The law isn’t as detached from society and its class structure as everyone would like to believe, and the paper will discuss how this is true from a Marxist perspective in regards to vagrancy. Drawing from Batty v. City of Toronto, a case that ruled against a group protesting against …show more content…
It will serve as background information in regards to the main argument of the paper, as to why Occupy Toronto was an example as to why the law is unfair and not in favour of the lower classes.

Chambliss, William. "Elites and the creation of criminal law." Sociological readings in the conflict perspective. Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley, 1973. 430-444. Print. This is a course material source and a foundation of the essay, as it will exemplify as to how vagrancy laws support the interests of the elites and how the upper class played a hand in the law-making process during its first appearance in England.

Ribton-Turner, Charles James. A history of vagrants and vagrancy, and beggars and begging. London: Chapman and Hall, 1887. Print.

This is an outside source that will go into depth as to how vagrancy laws came into being and as a response to the vagrants in England. One notable section describes King Henry I’s solution to limiting how vagrants could roam, in which they are not to leave a certain area without specific permission and that such a violation could lead to considerable punishment, which included a fine and "to do right in all respects" (Ribton-Turner …show more content…
Cities." National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty. National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty, Nov. 2011. Web. 1 Feb. 2016.

This is an outside source that is a report on the homelessness in America and discusses the criminalization of these individuals. It gives a detailed report of the increase of poverty and it looks at how attempting to criminalize the homeless impacts both the homeless and the criminal justice system. Specifically, it affects the human rights and dignity of the individuals and the burdening the justice system with unnecessary cases.

Conclusion (1 paragraph): This section will have the concluding paragraph. This paragraph will very briefly summarize the historical background of vagrancy and the laws that arose from trying to limit the movement of vagrants. It will repeat how these laws are a reflection of the oppression from the elite class having an influence over the justice system from a Marxist perspective and Chambliss’ views this influence. The section will then discuss about the Occupy Toronto case and its decisions, along with how it is an example of the Marxist view of the law. Finally, it will tie up everything at the end by repeating the thesis and give a proper conclusion to the

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