Conflict Criminological Analysis

Unlike classical or neoclassical and positivist theories, which accept that society is branded mainly by consensus, conflict theory accepts that society is created mainly on conflict between rival interest groups (for example, the wealthy against the underprivileged, white collar, against blue collar , Whites against minorities, men against women, adult against children, Protestants against Catholics. Democrats against Republicans) (Bohm & Vogel, 2010).

Conflict criminologists, people are only labeled as criminals when it is in the interests of dominant groups to do so; and because it is generally not in the interest of dominant groups to label its own members as criminals, members of subordinate groups are more likely to be stigmatized in

German social theorist Karl Marx (1818-1883) wrote very little about crime and criminal justice, radical theories of crime causation are generally based on a Marxist theoretical framework that interrelated the capitalist mode of production, the state, law, crime control (Bohm & Vogel, 2010). And crime as well as other relevant factors. In general radical criminologists focus their attentiveness on the social provisions of society, especially on political and economic organizations and foundation of capitalism. They argue that in a capitalist societies, a very small proportion of people are the big winners in the individualistic and competitive struggle for material wealth, and the rest of the population are losers. The winners do everything in their considerable power to keep from becoming loser including taking advantage of other people (Bohm & Vogel,

The goal is to stimulate discussion on differences between modernist and postmodernist thinkers in criminology and law (“NCJRS abstract - national criminal justice reference service,” 1997).

They have argued against any broad, general theory on anything, at best suggesting that local people everywhere need to develop their own definitions of their experiences to work out their own methods of resistance to oppression.

Postmodern criminologists are concerned with the production of meaning in the area of crime. They argue that such meaning is co-produced by those who engage in crime, those who try to control it and those who study it. They define crime as the power to create pain or harm in any context, so that law is not just a definer of crime, it is also the maker of crime. This is because it conceals some people’s harms by reflecting power relations, and it manifests crime through its own exercise of power over others (“PEACEMAKING CRIMINOLOGY,”