SOCIAL: FEMINIST PERSPECTIVE OF CRIMINOLOGY

There are various ways to explain the feminist perspective on criminology. These theories aid the criminologist in assessing the rate of female crime in any given community. The naturalist thesis specifies that gender roles are derived from biological differences. This means that men and women each have different roles as according to their sex. The functional thesis explains that each sex, men and women, play a role in the functioning of society. Each of these sexes contribute to the societal, “machine.” Women in this thesis are the primary caretakers of children while men are the backbone of the family with tasks as having employment. The final thesis is the critical thesis which explains that the roles of men and women cause conflict and power struggles. In critical criminology the fact that we are all equal under the law masks inequalities, the law serves the dominant group and the poor are punished more so than the wealthy. These are the types of power struggles that occur within this thesis. Criminologist also theorize several hypothesis when considering the feminist perspective of criminology. First, is the masculinity hypothesis. As society develops it becomes inevitable that women will undertake roles which are more masculine. The cultural development in this day and age sexualizes women that in the past, only men were allowed to be this sexual. An example of this is the, “slut walk.”. The, “slut walk,” encourages, traditionally “male like,” promiscuity and empowers females to be that way. Another hypothesis is the opportunity hypothesis. This explains that as society develops, females will have more opportunities where in they will have more opportunity to commit crime. The feminist movement fought for equality in three waves wherein we now have females working traditional, “male jobs.” This has given females more opportunities in which they can commit crime. Lastly the economic marginalization hypothesis argues that females in their position become marginalized because of their roles in society. This hypothesis describes the increased marginalization of women wherein they become less able to take care of themselves and their family. An example is a divorced housewife who, therefore, becomes marginalized and unable to care for her loved ones in which case she resorts to prostitution.

SOCIAL: ANNALYSIS OF CRIME

There are three main criticisms of critical Criminology and they are as follows:  The idea that we are all equal under the law masks inequality and legitimized capitalism, the criminal justice system reflects the interest of the dominant class and the law punishes the poor and marginalized.  Crime can be dealt with via incarceration, removal of privileges, isolation, deterrence, shaming and social control.  Crime prevention through social development reduces crime rates.  This attempts to alter the conditions in which crime is bread.  These include early childhood education, community activities, job training and parental support.  There are many corelates of crime which give the criminologist perspectives on the likely hood of criminal action.  Sex, men are more likely to commit.  Age, teenagers are at a higher probability to commit crime.  Social status, poor people are highly likely to commit crime.  And relationship, people who have histories of violence are very likely to do crime.  Active precipitation says that victims provoke the crime.  Passive precipitation is when a victim possesses a characteristic the promotes the crime.  When a crime occurs victims have legal recourse they can rely on human rights legislation and provide the police with a statement so the criminal can be charged under the criminal justice system.  There are many causes of hate crimes.  Hate crimes can be defined as a legal violation based on a prejudice.  These have various causes and are not exhaustive to movement of minorities, boredom, economic recession, historical animosity or resentment of success.  Lifestyle theories indicate that high risk life styles are a cause of crime.  These include lifestyles as youth, homeless and or sex offenders.  The routine activities theory on the other hand explains that there are three variables which increase the likelihood of crime.  These are motivation, lack of guardian and a suitable target.  The equivalent group hypothesis explains that victims are also offenders.  This hypothesis explains that victims have a history of crime.  As you can see, there are many views on crime and it is very important that we keep these in mind when analyzing criminal activity within our communities.

SOCIAL: AN ANNALYSIS OF HEGEMONY

Hegemony is the idea that a person or group obtains leadership and dominance.  Hegemony is obtained through coercion or consent.  Coercion uses aggression and or force in order to be able to persuade.  Consent aims to provide concessions to be able to suggest a position.  In hegemony, people forgo their point of view for the dominant entities view.  The hegemon plays a significant role in shaping the culture of a community.  They influence the values, morals and beliefs of people.  An example of hegemony is the government.  This government apparatus is the source of power and they dictate the rules and guidelines in which people obey.  Hegemony requires a certain type of responsibility and accountability for it to be able to be sustainable as people through consensus can overthrow their dominance.  Hegemony seeks to maintain its dominance by neutralizing social threats.  They do this in many ways but parties that join forces to ascertain this position are disfavored by the hegemon.  This is essentially the idea of conflict theory.  In this theory it states that society is a conflict with multiple groups who have conflicting interest.  These groups then vie for power and control.  The proponents of social control specifies that society imposes control to suppress behaviors.  Viewing hegemony from this perspective allows one to be able to understand its idea.  As hegemony plays a main part of influencing the people they seek to dismiss view that conflict with their narrative, this therefore is an adequate explanation of its process.  I suppose hegemony maintains a social structure of society and prevents anomie or social disorganization.  Hegemony allows for people to be able to unite and in that they can mobilize together to accomplish societal objectives.

SOCIAL: CRIMINOLOGIST PERSPECTIVE ON MARXISIM

Marxism is a concept well known in Criminology. It originates from the philosopher Karl Marx who studied economy and class. Its proponents include concepts such as social class and capitalism. It explains that socialism or communism will overtake capitalism as the proletariat become frustrated with their perceived oppression by the bourgeoise. The state is the apparatus by which they interest to gain power. The state is where rules and regulations of society originate. This is essentially the source of power in any society. The state is the hegemon, the dominant power that exerts itself through the consent or coercion of the people. Consent is obtained via commissions. Coercion is gained by force. The state distributes good and services to its people.

The modes of production is how society distribute the means of production (land, machinery, etc.).  The bourgeoisie own the means of production and they use their wealth to be able to maintain the status quo within any economy. The working class or the proletariat sell their labor to the bourgeoisie in exchange for salaries. They will always receive less value than they produce as according to the writings of Karl Marx who further specified that this is the method that the bourgeoisie obtain their surplus. Marxism is considered a conflict theory wherein society is a conflict wherein different interest groups vie for power and oppose one another. It is contrasted from consensus theory that describes that the majority of people subscribe. This concept of Marxism is furthered by pluralism. Which specifies that the society consists of multiple groups wherein they join forces in order to oppose a social threat. It could be unions and the working class against the capitalist class and the production facilities. These parties all have different interest and they attempt to gain power of the state apparatus in order to fulfill their objectives. Societies norms, values and morals which shape these interest are a result of culture. The culture is created through social actions and socialization of the people. This is what is referred to as constructionism.

SCHOLAR: FREDOM OF SPEECH

Crime can be defined as any violation of law and it is contrasted against deviance in that sense.  Society through structural functionalism creates a culture from consensus.  Justice defends the current social structure of the society in order to protect and serve the people through the rule of law.  The use of language in our society has been attacked through multiple institutions.  There are modern examples of the implication of the attack on freedom of speech.  Not only are there those implications, those that were subdued remain in suffering as a consequence. Free speech is something all of us have taken for granted.  We need to speak up not for those that are too wary but those that are unheeded for if we don’t we risk the very fabric of our free and independent society, democracy. 

The origin of the labelling of crime originates from Babylon where they had an organized method in order to classify actions as such.  This method has been since expanded in multiple societies.  As civilization got more sophisticated, they then moved on to metaphysics which is where law emerged.  Through the enlightenment the free thinkers progressed society with great upheaval from authorities such as the church.  These thinkers challenged conventional ideologies at that time wherein they were prosecuted for their beliefs.  They were essentially deviants who were committing heretics.  Today, crime is handled in a methodic civilized way.  We in the west, no longer torture these criminals in such explicit ways as the iron maiden or the thumb screw.  Those are now considered violations of human rights.  Although crime and deviance are commonly associated or linked to one another, not all deviance is a crime and vise versa.  

Science and logic allowed society to methodically analyze crime and its reasons.  Through the concept of mens rea and acteus reus, we have therefore made extensive progress in our analysis of crime.  Mens rea can be described as the intent.  And actus reus literally is latin for the, “evil,” act.  Notice that the word, “evil,” is used as it is a direct link to the origin of former authority, the church.  The modern Criminologist uses the scientific method to analyze and evaluate crime.  They use both primary and secondary resources to identify causation.  Theories are developed in order to explain crime.  These are then applied to current crimes wherein innovations such as restorative justice use reintegrative shaming to promote communitarianism and interdependence within the society.

Through the consensus theory society subscribes to social norms.  This is a theory which attempts to explain social control over a population.  Social control is maintained through cohesion wherein laws serve to protect those in power.  Some criminologist argue that there is an ongoing conflict within our society where those who own the means of production take advantage of those that sell their labor in the labor market.  Regardless, both that are involved play a role in production wherein goods and services are sold in the factors market.  As you can see, this system operates accordingly where each is codependent on the other for maintenance.  This is explained through the concept of structural functionalism where society is considered a, “machine.”  This, “machine,” operates to serve the people and itself wherein those that are in power seek its continuity because they benefit from this status quo.  This is done through political socialization wherein parties that represent the government segment the population and target their supporters in order to be able to create consensus, thus the maintenance of this, “machine.

As structural functionalism provides a conceptualized explanation of the society, it is really important to understand what actually maintains this structure.  The idea of the rule of law is really the foundation of every contemporary society.  This prevents arbitrary execution of power or its abuse.  It serves to protect the people, yet it maintains the government structure.  Moreover, democracy allows consensus to be focused wherein people vote to have their rights represented in this state, “machine.” Our legal structure also serves to protect utilitarian values wherein the majority of the people are represented as such.  As you can see, the very nature of western society is built on these principles and therefore, is constantly being challenged.  One of the threats to this fair and equitable system is in disguise and its allure is to promote consensus through its appeal of the masses.

What is the purpose of communication?  Who does communication represent?  These are the types of questions we must ask ourselves in order to promote the progression of this societal, “machine.” In recent times there has been a rise in our culture with pertinence to political correctness.  People are being oppressed by a disguised, “tyrant.”  This, “tyrant,” is described in the writings of Karl Marx.  The, “tyrant,” in question serves to replace western freedom and equity with itself, communism or socialism.  This system has mass appeal because the majority of the people do not own the means of production.  This is a system where the common people seek to overthrow the societal, “machine,” referred to as capitalism.  It fails to recognize competition and seeks to shut down communication to save the, “feelings,” of people.  In our attempt of political correctness, we have essentially stopped the passion in our communications.  The fore-fathers would shed tears in their eyes if they ever were alive today because the free market they struggled so hard to create is slowly disintegrating to socialism.  Our free and independent society is being compromised in favor of saving our feelings.  The passion in our communications has been labeled as, “hate speech.”  This sensitivity in modern communications has caused many people to limit their divulgence of information which therefore prevents competition.  This limit in competition has potentially caused macroscopic effects which are contrary to adversarial innovation.  In societies attempt to, “shut down,” offensive communication in favor of, “feelings,” it has implicated the competitive nature of what our society communication is built upon, freedom of speech.  

In economics there is the idea of competition.  This competition allows for the greatest products to be released and or marketed.  It enables people to be innovative and think outside of the box.  If competition was removed, societal progress would be implicated.  The repercussions are damning as societal progress would stop and would function as a monopoly which would reduce societal efficiency.  On the other hand, if there is too much competition it would make a market that is too difficult to proliferate thus isolating people.  If we look at free speech with this lens, it becomes obvious that competition is being censored.  This is the fundamental premise of how the left lures people to support its, “machine.”  The censorship of free speech prevents people from communicating which then may potentially inhibit societal progress.  With consideration of the foregoing however, when contrasted against the USA’s first amendment we can see that their people have the ability to speak their mind without any government intervention.  Yes, of course we must operate in a civil manner but in Canada, censorship has caused a political system of oppression.  In Canada’s attempt to save the feelings of people whom they label as victims, they have essentially condemned and victimized the opposing side which today remains oppressed.  This clearly removes these people’s equity as they are unable to speak their mind.  This shut down of communication prevents critical communication from being conveyed which therefore potentially prevents societal progress.  I believe there is a time and place for every type of communication and, “locker room talk,” should not be shut down but rather analyzed.  A recent example of this distain towards this type of banter is with president Donald Trump.  He constantly gets criticized for his rash comments.  However, in my opinion his platform appeals to the common person, as that is the way people communicate and that I feel is the reason he won his election.  Another example is Rodrigo Duterte.  This president talks in a manner that is very offensive at times however, this is the type of communication that commoners don’t like to admit that they engage in but they do.  These people are protecting the freedom of speech that western society has worked so hard for.  Censorship is causing a society where people are in fear of communicating their opinion.  A more practical example is when a man took his dog to the veterinarian and wrote a negative review on yelp about the service he had received. The clinic then sued him because his opinion was not favorable.  Is this the society we want?  Are we so lost that we allow our feelings to supersede logic and free thought?  Who is the victim here?  

This upbringing or development of this type of power can be seen in regimes such as the Soviet Union, China, North Korea and Cuba.  In the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin.  In China, Mau Zedong. In North Korea, the Kim’s.  In Cuba, Castro.  The people in these nations are extremely complacent and they are prevented from speaking against the government which therefore, creates or maintains their tyrannical political system.  From their perspective the victimizer is those that have the consensus as international relations prevents their communities from moving forward.  The victims here are the society and those that that are in the hot seat of censorship.  These are the people that get oppressed and forgotten.  They get forgotten because the concept of the victim encourages people to have empathy for those that are directly percieved to being victimized while neglecting to give equity to the other party.  This other party is often disintgratevely shamed for their initial insinuating comments and is then denied equity through censorship.  Although I argue this, it is also necessary to understand the opposition.  These can be examples such as in Germany, Hitler and Italy, Mussolini with the forgoing known to use slurs in his political discourse. These are the people that are attacked in favor of saving the feelings of another.  We in western society must therefore critically analyze our communication.  We must realize that indeed there is a time and place for all forms of communication.  It is important to not be lured by the left as their appeal will be the down fall of what all western civilizations have been fighting for, freedom, independence and democracy.  

In Canada forms of freedom of speech are being attacked and labelled as a crime.  Society through the consensus of saving people’s feelings is commencing the foundation of a socialist regime.  Equity is the casualty of this development.  Justice needs to reevaluate this concept of censorship as people are unfairly being oppressed.  The contemporary examples herein provide an explanation on the destruction of freedom of speech.  Those nations that have been silenced should be enough to cause an alarm. Freedom, independence and democracy are concepts that the west has promoted.  If society is to progress we must ask ourselves, are our feelings worth the sacrifice of equity?

INQUISITIVE: THE CANADIAN RACISM

INQUISITIVE: POLLUTION

SOCIAL: ABORIGINAL RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS

In Canada there was an issue with the aboriginal people and sending them to residential school where they can be institutionalized so that they may forget their heritage. The colonizers wanted the indigenous people to assimilate into the, "Canadian," way. The aboriginals were treated with distain in these residential schools. There are numerous reports of sexual assault or even abuse by staff or employees of these schools. These residential schools are considered a violation of the Canadian Constitution. This is so because it is discriminatory. The colonizers in their attempt to assimilate these aboriginals were maintaining the social construct of, "white Canada." They did this through institutionalized racism ie. these residential schools. Even to this day aboriginals are being discriminated upon. This racism has affected them intergenerationally. These survivors and their decedents have less perceived opportunities in the community as they become, "drunks," or "addicts," in order to provide therapy to their racial pain. Furthermore, they have been displaced from the main areas which has caused them to experience some resentment.

With all of these considerations not all is bad though. Canada has made every effort to promote equality. This is done through affirmative action wherein aboriginals have certain rights which promote their success in society. I would like to define racisim herein as the discrimination against a persons culture or physical traits.

SCHOLAR: CASE STUDY OF SOCIAL DISORGANIZATION, SOCIAL CONTROL AND STRAIN THEORY

The episode of “The Coroner,” interprets a city in Baltimore wherein crime is a common occurrence.  Due to social disorganization, the city is depicted as a place where police respond to deter individuals from partaking in criminal activity.    In their response, they attempt to enforce social control which evidently, as according to Merton’s theory of strain, the criminals learn how to manage themselves in order to evade police deterrence.  It is portrayed in the episode that these people in that community lack social bonds as according to Hirschi.  These two theories provide the Criminologist a way to explore methods which can analyze and solve criminal behavior within developing communities.  Therefore, it is important to keep in mind these two theories as they explain the necessary parts of a community which are affected resulting from the conflict of crime versus justice, the modern conflict of any community today.    The selected deviance that is going to be looked at in this essay are drug use and loitering.

Social disorganization theory is a concept originating from the Chicago school.  This concept attempts to explain how neighborhoods are a correlate of the likelihood of criminal activity.  Through the concentric zones model the Chicago school, explains that there are a sum of five zones.  This model depicts an epicenter referred to as, “zone 1,” wherein it is labelled as the business zone.  This zone is where the majority of commercial and industrial activity of a city takes place.  As one moves from, “zone 1” to “zone 2,” according to the model, this zone is referred to as the, “zone in transition,” whereby people whom were pushed out of “zone 1,” or were unable to secure employment reside.  This is a place of poverty and marginalization. (Akers, 2013) In the episode this is the zone that is depicted.  As one watches and observes this part of the environment of Maryland, Baltimore, it is clear that the unkept streets and houses of these neighborhoods represent “zone 2,” of the concentric zones model. 

The, “zone in transition,” is a result of various factors not limited to lack of education, poor upbringing- teenagers, lack of opportunities- jobs, vandalism- pollution and poor development of buildings/ structures amongst others.  Not only can these be found in this zone, according to the theory these less fortunate people experience a lack or weak social ties.  There are three categories in which ties are divided.  First is the private ties which relate to friends and family.  Second are the parochial ties referring to the community or society at large.  Third are the public ties which relate to the government.  Crime is said to occur in this zone because of a lack of cohesion of one or more of these, “ties.”  The episode depicts Gary’s female friend stealing his drugs as she attempts to signal him that the police are in the building at which point she exchanges the drugs with another substance.  Thus, it can be said that there is an impairment of their relationship, a private tie.  The main character, Gary has broken parochial ties and this is depicted in such a way that he conducts himself within the community in a defensive manner.  The only government representation in the film depicts police whom are very aggressive towards these drug pushers.  Their treatment of these deviant drug pushers indicates that these pushers have broken public ties.  The police routinely drive across the neighborhood and surprise these deviant drug pushers with drug checks.   

Moving on, the third, “zone,” is referred to as the, “men’s houses,” zone wherein working families reside.    The last two zones, “zone 4,” and “zone 5,” are called residential zones.  These are basically the suburbs of the community where the majority of the people reside.  These people commute to the business zone in order to fulfill employment tasks (Akers, 2013).  It is important to understand this concept because society needs a method to be able to study the development of communities in the hopes that they may be able to alleviate poverty and or marginalization in an efficient organized manner.    It is important to understand all zones because in order to understand the deviance that is happening in Gary’s neighborhood, we must have a firm grasp on what happens in the remainder of the zones.  I am a critic of this theory because it doesn’t really explain how social control is maintained or enforced within the zones.  It only points out the occurrences in each zone and how they came to exist which lacks sufficient explanation on what is done or how deviant matters are dealt with.  Therefore, it is important to use the social disorganization theory in tandem with the social control theory in order to have a convincing explanation on the occurrences in any given zone. 

Social control is a concept whereby it attempts to explain how society enforces controls in order to dissuade people from certain behaviors (Akers, 2013).  This could be done through deterrence such as sanctions or penalties amongst others.  The police in the episode enforce social control in order to apprehend deviant loiterers whom are pushing drugs.  This is done through aggressive police personalities whom seem to have adjusted their demeanor according to the culture of the specific neighborhoods.  The police act in a very hostile manner as they search the loiterers.  Some of these deviants are known by the police and it is seen in the episode that some of the police know some of these deviants by names as they are repeat offenders. 

Criminologist argue that human nature is deviant, chaotic or even violent.  Their beliefs are divided through two concepts, innatism and tabula rasa.  Innatism explains that humans are born with ideas or beliefs which then increases the likelihood of a person committing deviance and or crime.  Tabula rasa on the other hand, attempts to explain that individuals are born with a blank slate which then through concepts such as social learning theory attempt to further the notion of learned behavior through associations.  This is observed in the episode through flash backs in Gary’s childhood.  Like a blank slate, it seems that he grew up in an average working-class family however, as he got older it is likely he became a drug user through what he has learned within his surroundings such as his peer groups.  According to Robert Merton’s strain theory, societal structures cause people to break norms.  These people then use the modes of adaptation in order to be able to adjust to certain situations.  The modes of adaptation are as follows innovation, conformity, rebellion, ritualism and retreatism (Akers, 2013).  I will focus on innovation and retreatism with pertinence to drugs and loitering in the preceding paragraphs. 

A prominent sociologist named Hirschi explains that self-control is the same as social control.  He critiqued social control because of the fact that it lacks the consideration of bonds.  His theory explains that these bonds can be bridged or weakened which would then cause an individual to do criminal activity.  The bonds are as follows, attachment, commitment, involvement and belief.  Attachment is the empathy towards another person.  Commitment explains the ability to plan and or achieve within society.  Involvement is the participation within a community.  And lastly belief is the value system of a person (Akers, 2013). The people depicted in the episode displayed a lack of the bond of attachment.  As specified above, Gary’s female friend tricked him by convincing him that the cops were in the building in order to steal his drugs.  This is an example of a weak bond of attachment as she basically took from him.  Furthermore, as according to Merton’s strain theory this would be an example of retreatism wherein this female character, as an addict, used illegitimate means to ascertain her personal goal.  She was lacking the funds in order to be able to purchase her own drugs which is a form of strain or stress so therefore, it caused her to deceive Gary via the mode of adaptation.  Both the drug users and pushers depicted in the episode lack a bond for commitment as they are unemployed and loitering either to purchase or are awaiting an illegal sale.  This deviance is handled by the police through random drug searches of loiterers throughout the neighborhoods.  The police would drive into the neighborhood and their drug search drill would commence.  In Criminology, this can be described through the theory of deterrence.  Since the penalty is likely jail time, those who covet drugs are either imprisoned or become more cunning therefore, they would be less likely to commit crime or get caught.  In the episode, there is a scene where once the police leave after they have conducted a drug search, the drug pushers/ users return for their dropped drugs.  They have adjusted their behavior according to the environment which is the main premise of the social learning theory.    Moreover, as according to Merton’s modes of adaptation loitering would be an example of innovation wherein these people who are loitering are in line with cultural goals but lack legitimate means in order to fulfil their goals.  The lack of anything useful to do in this case would be considered the strain or pressure which is causing the loitering to take place.  It is also noted that self-control is learned and developed through childhood thus, if one fails to develop this it would cause a person to be more likely to criminal activity.  Also, the lack of societal enforcement of sanctions can cause a lack of self- control within people.  Therefore, increasing the probability that people would or could commit crime.  In the former case it is likely that Gary at sometime in his development to adolescence, he encountered peers wherein he adopted their negative behaviors.  People adopt negative behaviors to be able to fit in or maybe its popularized by culture.  

This episode of “The Coroner,” was an enlightening experience.  It allows the observers to get an idea of how the culture is in Maryland, Baltimore.  Through this observation, theories such as social disorganization and social control can be utilized to evaluate the phenomena in these neighborhoods.  In my critique of these two theories, I believe that they should be used hand in hand and not separately as it does not depict the whole situation of a community on their own.  Social organization gives an idea of how neighborhoods came to be but lacks the ability to explain how social control is enforced and vise versa.  Therefore, these theories do complement one another, and it is an effective tool in assessing communities.  On the other hand, I believe Robert Merton’s theory of strain can be used to further assess the issue of social disorganization and social control as Merton’s theory analyzes the effect of weak social bonds which therefore, explains how intra/interpersonal matters affect the likelihood a person is to commit deviance.  However, I think that social disorganization theory is more effective in explaining the deviance of loitering and or drug use because it includes an explanation of a person’s, “ties,” which Merton’s theory attempts explains. 

“The Coroner,” episode that was assigned, depicts a community in Baltimore riddled with poverty and marginalization.  It gives the audience an example of how social disorganization can occur in a community.  Furthermore, it shows how the police respond through deterrence in preventing criminal activity.  They attempt to enforce social control as they react to the culture that has developed.  The concepts of social disorganization and social control lack a thorough definition of the crimes in that community when used alone, however, when used together, can provide a complete understanding on methods to analyze the development of communities wherein poverty or marginalization can be rectified in a way that progresses society.  

SCHOLAR: SOCIAL DISORGANIZATION

Social disorganization theory is a concept originating from the Chicago school.  This concept attempts to explain how neighborhoods are a correlate of the likelihood of criminal activity.  Through the concentric zones model the Chicago school, explains that there are a sum of five zones.  This model depicts an epicenter referred to as, “zone 1,” wherein it is labelled as the business zone.  This zone is where the majority of commercial and industrial activity of a city takes place.  As one moves from, “zone 1” to “zone 2,” according to the model, this zone is referred to as the, “zone in transition,” whereby people whom were pushed out of, “zone 1,” or were unable to secure employment therein reside.  This is a place of poverty and marginalization.  This, “zone in transition,” is a result of various factors not limited to lack of education, poor upbringing- teenagers, lack of opportunities- jobs, vandalism- pollution and poor development of buildings/ structures amongst others.  Not only can these be found in this zone, according to the theory these less fortunate people experience a lack or weak social ties.  

There are three categories in which ties are divided.  First is the private ties which relate to friends and family.  Second are the parochial ties referring to the community or society at large.  Third are the public ties which relate to the government.  Crime is said to occur in this zone because of a lack of cohesion one or more of these, “ties.”  Moving on, the third, “zone,” is referred to as the, “men’s house,” zone wherein working families reside.    The last two zones, “zone 4,” and “zone 5,” are called residential zones.  These are basically the suburbs of the community where the majority of the people reside.  These people commute to the business zone in order to fulfill employment tasks.  It is important to understand this concept because society needs a method to be able to study the development of communities in the hopes that they may be able to alleviate poverty and or marginalization in an efficient, organized manner.

SCHOLAR: THE PAIN OF LABELLING

A theory which attempts to exhort power over another is the concept of, “labelling.”  In this theory I will refer to each as either the labeler or the labeled.  The labeler attempts to gain power over the labeled in the sense that the labeler defines the labeled in such a way that that person is deviant or criminal.  This, “label,” causes the labeled to feel shame therefore inflicting pain or suffering.  The label can change a person’s life path because the labeled will negotiate with one’s self, according to the label.  The formal process by which labelling occurs is as follows, the labeler labels the labeled, the labeled than becomes stigmatized, he or she then negotiates with him/ herself, causing changes to the self-identity, and finally the new identity is then created.  There are two types of labelling that occur one is the informal method which essentially is social stigmatization and the second referred to as formal, which is institutionalized labelling.  In society things are perceived as, “good,” or “bad,” and this is done through a concept referred to as consensus theory.  The consensus theory explains that the majority subscribes to certain actions which can either be deviant or criminal.  Primary deviance is the deviant action whereas secondary deviance is the societal response to the action being considered deviant.  

This response is through deterrence such as but not limited to sanctions or penalties etc.  As mentioned, actions are either, “right,” or “wrong,” this is what is referred to as moral relativism.  Whereas moral absolutism labels things as inherently, “good,” or “bad.”  Furthermore, deontological thinking labels things as inherently, “good,” or “bad.”  Lastly, consequentialism states that a certain action is “good,” or “bad,” because of another action.  Some argue that labelling causes what is referred to as, “net widening.”  This is where the label causes more harm than good.  An example can include the labeling of the labeling of illegalized drugs causes more crime.  Attempts by the society to reduce labelling include decriminalization or deinstitutionalization. I would just like to brief on the concept of shaming as it is very important to the idea of labelling.  There are two types of shamming the first is disintegrative which evidently means stigmatization.  The next is integrative shaming which attempts to rectify the persons circumstance that he or she can become interdependent with the community or experience a sense of communitarianism.  In modern day society this occurs through restorative justice wherein the criminal is rehabilitated with the victim so that they can find a method whereby they both experience resolution.  As you can see labelling causes many implications in our society, it is necessary to be very cautious when even attempting to label another as there are implications which could cause irreputable harm. 

SCHOLAR: CRIME AND DEVIANCE

The social control theory is a theory which attempts to explain how society imposes certain controls in order to discourage certain human behaviors. This is done through deterrence such as sanctions or penalties. It is recognized that human nature is inherently bad, violent, deviant or chaotic. These controls prevent people from becoming deviant. Scholars argue the concept of innatism wherein individuals are born with ideas which then would increase their likelihood of conducting criminal activity. Others subscribe to the concept of tabula rasa wherein they believe humans are born with a clean slate which are then influenced by their associations within the environment. Social control is the same as self control according to Hiroshi. He argues that a lack of self control is the cause of criminal behavior. Furthermore, these individuals anticipate or estimate the benefit or cost of potentially criminal acts. It is argued that the susceptibility to criminal behavior is developed from a child failing to learn self control as they grow up. Also it is theorized that the lack of societal enforcement causes individuals to become criminals. Nevertheless, Hiroshi argues that the bonds that are developed interpersonally can be indicative of a person committing possible deviance or crime. There are four types of bonds and they are as follows, attachment, involvement, belief and commitment. Deviance can be described as nonconformity to societal norms whereas crimes are a violation of the law. It is necessary to understand both concepts as some deviance is not always a crime and crimes are not always deviant.

INQUISITIVE: UNIVERSAL BASIC INCOME