Crime and Punishment: A Radical Perspective

Crime and Punishment

            The political philosopher Thomas Hobbes describs the natural state of existence of man as the “State of Nature”, a condition in which no laws or moral restrictions exist.  In the state of nature, man is a violent and selfish creature, where it is man against man competing for resources that other men have. Elijah Anderson makes a similar argument in The Code of the Street about people living in low income areas. Crime is rampant throughout every low income area due to the lack of control that exists. Instead, the people make up their own laws and codes since those established by mainstream society seem to fail them. In his essay, “The Code of the Streets,” Elijah Anderson argues that street people resort to deviance due to lack of adequate social controls, exemplifying the control theory of deviance.

            Where functionalist theory argues that crime is a result of structural tensions and lack of moral regulation in a society, control theorists state that “crime occurs as a result of an imbalance between impulses toward criminal activity and the social or physical controls that deter it” (Giddens 162). In street orientated neighborhoods, the physical controls like police and justice systems are not present to deter crime. Instead, its residents have created a code of the streets, “a cultural adaptation to a profound lack of faith in the police and the judicial system”(Anderson 172). This system gives them a sense of control in an otherwise bleak existence. Pressures placed on them by the capitalist system of America essentially tell them that they have no value in a society that values wealth and possessions. The code of the street is a way for street people to acquire possessions. Since no material wealth exists in the streets, the people have placed an abstract value on respect. Everything about the code of the street is related to respect, as respect is the only belonging they feel they own. “Respect is viewed as almost an external entity that is hard-won but easily lost, so it must constantly be guarded.” (Anderson 172). This code of the streets that protects their respect necessitates violence in order to hold onto their respect. Since no physical controls exist, an external one is created that leads to violence.

            People who are born into poverty most often die in poverty. Their children inherit poverty and pass it on to their children. Much like poverty, people born into conditions in which control does not exist will pass on this notion of no control to their children.  Children born into poverty are often exposed and socialized by people who go against mainstream society. Elijah Anderson says, “These families, who are more fully invested in the code of the streets… may aggressively socialize their children into it in a normative way”(174). The children have no chance to be exposed to decent values since they are heavily socialized to believe that society is out to get them. This leads people to feel trapped, leading to deviance. The control theory explains that there are four types of bonds that would prevent someone from breaking the law: attachment, involvement, commitment, and belief. Growing up in poverty alienates a person from developing many of these bonds. Involvement does not exist in an impoverished area because people do not see the point in helping a community if the people are only going to tear down what they worked so hard to build. The values that impoverished children become attached to counter the values that society wants a person to hold. They become committed to the code, attached to it, and begin to believe it, almost as an ideology. If they live long enough to have offspring, they pass these views and values onto them, further breaking down the system and control.
            In decent and proper segments of society, status is attained through education, one’s vocation, or virtue of their character. In the society of the street, status is attained in a much different way due to the lack of controls that exist. Impoverished neighborhoods often have a lack of employment, leaving many people to be extremely poor. Though they are extremely poor, they are still covetous of luxury items like jackets, rims, and expensive guns. What ends up happening in ghetto neighborhoods is that mankind reverts to a state of nature, as described by Thomas Hobbes. In this state of nature, it is every man for himself, his only concern being his own welfare while not taking into account the welfare of another man. It is a violent and turbulent state, and is exemplified in street neighborhoods. Elijah Anderson states that people rob each other of their personal possessions and attain respect for doing so. In decent society, thit is a sign of disrespect and the perpetrator is labeled a criminal, a low status in decent society. But, “when a person can take something from another and then flaunt it, he gains a certain regard by being the owner of controller” (Anderson 177). What the street neighborhoods amount to is the purest form of capitalism. It is man against man, fighting for possessions. He with the most possessions and respect, rules.  Travis Hirschi, one of the best known control theorists, “argued that humans are fundamentally selfish beings who make calculated decisions about whether or not to engage in criminal activity”(Giddens 162). This selfishness is displayed by the people who commit the robberies and assaults. They desperately want to own something and will go to great lengths to attain them. But there is a dichotomy that exists in this hardcore capitalist system, “that is, the extent to which one person can raise himself up depends on his ability to put another person down”(Anderson 178). Hence, the essence of capitalism: while the rich get richer and accumulate more wealth, the poor get poorer and lose more wealth. Since no controls exist to protect private property of innocent people from deviant individuals, crime is rampant and people lose their possessions as quickly as they gain them. This battle to retain respect and status instigates violence among residents.

            Many people growing up in poverty tend to go for bad. Low income neighborhoods can be a very dangerous and depressing place to live. The public housing that was built in the 1950’s in places like New York City, Chicago, and Atlanta, can feel like prisons to the residents. People feel as if they have no place to go and no chance of escape. Many of them then go for bad. Youths growing up in an impoverished neighborhood often develop a cavalier attitude towards life, not worrying about death or suffering. Instead they see how they can become a harder person. They view prison as a rite of passage in which every hardcore criminal must go through to be considered legitimate. “Hence the system loses influence over the hard core who are without jobs, with little perceptible stake in the system”  (Anderson 180). Since social controls have withered away, people resort violence and crime to make a living. Prison is not a strong enough deterrent to keep youths and adults alike from committing acts of deviance. Since they feel trapped, they feel they have nothing to lose.
            While crime originates from a plethora of factors, a lack of social control is the prominent one. While no simple solution exists, a fanciful solution would be to eradicate the economic disparities that exist between social classes. History has always been defined as a struggle of classes against one another. If everyone were to have the same amount of possessions, no one would want to risk robbing someone for a plain grey jacket issued by the government. Though the abolishment of private property would solve this problem, it is very unlikely since American society is so entrenched in materialism and decadence. As society moves ever further into the twenty first century, it needs to reevaluate how it treats and views those in the lowest reaches of society. A society can be judged by how it treats its poorest, sickest, and ugliest in the worst of times.