On the Spotlight: Richard Quinney Essay Example

make laws according to what suits them and what would put them in control over others (Book Rags, World of Criminal Justice on Richard Quinney). In his books, Crime and Justice in Society (1969) and The Problem of Crime (1970), he observed how capitalism was accountable for crime. He stressed that the leading economic classes of society formulated laws in the context of their own personal interests and not to actually differentiate what is right from wrong.

They characterized crime as a behavior that poor and powerless people will commit, while they created laws that would make themselves seem good. He argued that the system of justice was a mechanism of violence for the victims of capitalism (Book Rags, World of Criminal Justice on Richard Quinney). The contention of Quinney was not merely focused on capitalism itself. He also argued with those who tried to study crime. His view was that criminology was presenting erroneous answers.

He argued in his book, Critique of Legal Order that the study made by criminologists with offenders was incorrect because they were overlooking the real culprit to crime – the state itself. Efforts to reform the social justice system were illusive since the state would just make use of intellects to sustain its principles. The only way to solve this problem, according to him, was for United States to move from a capitalist society to a socialist society in order to promote social equity and justice (Book Rags, World of Criminal Justice on Richard Quinney).

Richard Quinney focused his theories on criminology and sociology of conflict. The theory of conflict states that coercion and power of individuals play an important role in

having the ability to exercise authority over powerless persons to create social order. This theory is generally applied for describing the conflicts between capitalism and socialism. Capitalism refers to a social and economic system in which means of production by individuals are generally private and owned.

This means that there is constant struggle in a capitalist society to belong to the dominant class in order to dictate the creation of laws and to be superior to the poor and powerless (Wikipedia, Capitalism). Individuals put in a great effort to maximize their benefits in a capitalist society. The struggle for power and superiority leads to conflict within a society. The basic source of social conflict is social class. High ranks of the society have more power than the low ranks. The battle for power is the main cause of conflict.

Individuals want their powers exercised onto others by creating laws that are for their own benefit and interest. The individuals in high ranks own more property than those belonging to low ranks. In Marxism, property is the primary determinant of one’s position in a social class. Crime results from conflicts arising within members of the social class. The fight for power and ownership cause the rise of crimes in a capitalist society. Quinney contends that the capitalist society forces individuals to commit crime to cope with their resistance for power and social equity, and personal ideology (Wikipedia, Conflict Theory).

Quinney followed Marxism in his theories. One contention of Marxism is that crime is always inevitable in capitalist society. It is a natural behavior occurring among individuals in societies having the struggle to emerge powerful than the rest of its

members. Social inequality is the root cause of all crimes in a capitalist society. Individuals commit crime in search for social balance by gaining material riches that eventually will bring them to equality in capitalist states.

It is assumed that each society is open to a course of continuous changes, and that this process produces social conflicts which lead to crimes. Individuals and other members of the social classes have differing needs and interests, and it cannot be assured that their interests will always coincide with one another’s interests. The result of this dissimilarity is conflicts arising in the society that come with the intent of maximizing one’s benefits and rule of power among other members of state.

The society is subjected to oppression by the rich and powerful. Coercion and power are used to the poor and powerless. Nevertheless, the poor and powerless’ struggles to gain themselves wealth and authority lead them to committing crimes. In response to crimes committed by the low class, the ruling class creates laws that exercise their power over these people (Wikipedia, Conflict Criminology). For Richard Quinney, laws are formed without the involvement of the society’s interest. The interests of the rich and powerful dictate the laws created.

His theory of sociology asserts the following: laws are created to interpret the interests of authorized individuals in a politically categorized society; a politically classified society is segmented in classes, and these classes have differing needs and interests; interest in such societies is described power distribution imbalance and conflicts of interest among its segments; laws are formulated by the powerful and ruling segment of the society to reflect their interests in the creation of

public policies.

In conclusion, it cannot be denied that some segments may be able to control other segments for their advantage (Quinney, xii). Quinney’s concept of crime is based on the following assumptions about a person and society: procedure, conflict, authority, and social action (Quinney, 9). Procedure is a series of continuous actions taking place in a society that results in a particular change. Conflicts are inevitable within any given society. Conflicts arise when members of the society have clashing interests and values.

It is known to all people that consensus cannot be achieved in all societies. Societies and social organizations are molded by multiplicity, oppression, and revolution. In a society, it can be assumed that the society is always subject to change; it is open to points of dissimilarity and conflicts; everything contributes to alteration; and it is always based on force by powerful members to other members. In summary, society is driven by coercion and constrictions and is described by conflicts as results of change (Quinney, 10).

Power is the ability of certain groups or individuals to dictate the manner of other individuals or groups. Power basically characterizes social organization. The allocation of values is affected by the distribution of power and vice versa. The two are basic components of the formation of public policy. However, some social groups become so organized that they are able to influence the formation of public policies in relation with their own personal interests (Quinney, 11). This is especially true in capitalist societies.

Public policies that are intended to represent the values and interests of the majority are being manipulated by the ruling class, therefore reflecting their ideologies. The belongingness of

man to society asserts that man can choose his actions and behavior. The extent of his conformity to social norms mainly depends on his control of himself. Man’s having social actions create social reality – the interaction of man with others creates a significant world in his daily life (Quinney, 15). In Quinney’s discussion of crime, he cited six propositions to describe the assumptions about man’s connection with society.

Crime is a characterization of human behavior that is shaped by authoritative individuals in a society that is organized politically. In simple words, crime is a behavior created from the actions of agents such as police, legislators and prosecutors through the formulation and application on criminal laws (Quinney, 15). Criminal definitions illustrate behaviors that clash with the values and interests of authorized agents that are able to shape public policies. The interests of the rich and powerful are reflected with laws that define crimes.

Because these individuals’ interests differ from the low ranks of society, they form public policies that protect themselves from being robbed out of power. Quinney points out that there is no fairness in public policies, since these are only translations of the interests of the predominant groups (Quinney, 16). The definitions of crime are the most evident demonstration of conflicts that arise in societies. Criminal laws that are formulated to a point protect and reflect the interests of a certain group, thereby creating conflicts that lead to crimes.

Quinney asserted that the greater the clash in conflicts among segments of the society, the more probable that authorized agents will exercise their power over the powerless through the formulation of laws and public policies (Quinney, 17).

Richard Quinney’s argument is that crime is a natural occurrence in an oppressive society and is being triggered by the formulation of laws that reflect the interest of dominant social class. The mere formulation of laws is the cause of crimes in conflicting societies.

References

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalism
2. http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9343981/Richard-Quinney
3. http://www.bookrags.com/biography/richard-quinney-cri/