Social Reality Theory

Social reality theory maintains that criminal behavior is a choice made by individuals who feel disenfranchised by society. Powerful forces within that society exploit those at the bottom, thus encouraging such behavior. Social reality says that reforming criminals is doomed to failure unless the basic structure of society is changed to bring the poor and disenfranchised into the mainstream. Behavioral psychologists who believe individual criminals can be reformed and politicians who believe in tougher sentencing laws oppose this work.

History

Critical philosopher and criminologist Richard Quinney published "The Social Reality of Crime" in 1970. He agreed with Karl Marx that history is a struggle between socioeconomic classes, but thought Marx did not go far enough. Quinney saw a post-Marxist world in which people were also exploited based on race, gender and religion. Quinney was among the first to shift the focus of criminology away from the actions of individual criminals and onto society itself. President Clinton was fond of quoting social reality concepts regarding social reforms to help the lower classes, but generally failed to act upon them at the policy level.

Theory

Quinney disagrees with the static approach of sociologists who believe society to be generally stable and consensual, that is, people agreeing to live together according to certain rules and precepts. Static interpreters view crime as deviant and disruptive. He prefers the dynamic approach, stating that society is changing all the time and conflict is unavoidable. Crime, he believes, is a response by the disenfranchised against those in power. Crime is an action against control.

Conflict

In capitalist countries, the many produce for the needs of the few. A small number of individuals control the vast amount of wealth, while the great majority of citizens work for low wages in poor conditions. As a certain percentage of these lower-class individuals turn to crime, the upper class stereotypes them, often as young, ethnic males, until the entire order is seen as a criminal class. The upper class does not realize that it is creating the problem by not sharing its wealth.

Power-Sharing

Those in power realize that they cannot exploit everyone in the system. In order to operate a vast government and financial enterprise, they need support. They share some of their wealth by inviting individuals into the system as bureaucrats, police officers and other authority figures. These employees come to defend the system that is separating them from their fellow employees. By sharing power and using the lower classes, capitalists support the state that in turn passes laws to support them.

Solution

Because man is active and independent, he does not always respond to a simple reward-and-punishment system. In order to prevent crime, Quinney argues, the disenfranchised must be brought into the system. They must share in the wealth of their labor. A classless society will end class friction. Quinney believes that a properly functioning socialist system will decrease, or even eliminate, most crime, because it takes away the motivations of the rich to exploit and the poor to rebel.

References

• California State University Dominguez Hills

Resources

• Florida State University