Timmers Definition of Law free essay sample

A definition of crime represents the legal conditions under which the state, as an instrument of an economically dominant class, exercises its power to punish. † I feel that the state maintains the capitalist order through laws. Primarily, control is done through the governing of consciousness of the population. The ruling class gives rise to their own ideology to protect themselves. Capitalism’s most subtle means of control is to try and manipulate the minds of the people. They try to dictate the future through the people’s thinking and overall living. This type of dictatorship is cultural, psychological, economic and political. When an existing order becomes threatened, the focus on crime rises. The ruling class diverts attention and gains validation for utilization of criminal sanctions to regain stability. The public, must feel that their interests are being protected, not only the ruling class alone. In doing this the state works to serve the interests of the capitalist ruling class. We will write a custom essay sample on Timmers Definition of Law or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page From the beginning of time, the elite forced their powers on the people that they believed to be evil. This is type of criminal behavior was of diabolical possession. People were believed to be of or controlled by a spiritual nature (State and Capital. n. d. ). During this time, people’s mentality for an explanation of crime was to find a solution to rid crime, so they would exorcise the demons which were responsible for the behavior either by exile or by execution. The Gods took highest priority and to appease them, people would go to great lengths, no matter the cost to stop crime. In primitive societies, a sin and a crime were considered as the same thing. Treason, witchcraft and endogamy were considered as violating the norms so these types of crimes would receive the harshest punishments. It depended on whether a person’s offenses were of a private or public matter. If it was private then their own clan would deal with them and their crime to avenge a fellow clan member. This goes back to even biblical times â€Å"an eye for an eye† kind of ideology. The punishment must fit the crime. In order for the primitive society to control crime there would be blood feuds (State and Capital n. d. ). It me this failed as a method of criminal justice to combat crimes because if someone committed a crime they were either hacked to pieces, eaten, stoned to death or exiled. I do not believe that this helped because there would be more people that would do the crime. Killing someone because society believed that they possessed evil spirit stopped that particular person from committing a crime, but it did not by any means stop it. This brings me to the state by imposing a form of compensation, called restitution. A specified amount was set for each type of offense. This came to be favored instead of blood feuds. I think that this was a very good idea because it set a monumental value on a crime that was committed without having a cruel and unusual punishment for a crime. When people have to be held accountable for their crimes through paying restitution it cuts into their livelihoods of providing for their families. Man was now seen as being rational and having free will which was better than the idea of man being controlled by a supernatural force and their behaviors being controlled by demons. States play a major role in reducing crime rates but as we see it has a very hard time at completely abolishing it. When a crime is committed, whether it be a white-collar crime, victimless crime, organized crime, street crime, political crime, or a corporate crime, it causes division (Crutchfield, R. D. , Kubrin, C. E. , Bridges, G. S. , Weis, J. G. 2008). Punishment is based on deterrence and is aimed at providing the greatest happiness for all of society without harming oneself or others. During the Great Depression rapid social change led to social disorganization that led to personal disorganization, which in turn lead to deviant and criminal behavior (Crutchfield, R. D. 2008). Social control was broken because of class differences, economic problems, cultural and ethnic issues. Crime rates can be reduced by states from necessary laws and solutions to social problems. Due to crimes many people have been killed, some have been harmed by other people. The states and the laws they are governed by are there to protect individuals from harm by other individuals. To the extent that states go to try and combat crime can, at times, be seen as going a bit too far in possessing the power that needs to be shown and enacted on when a person does commit a crime (Ormeci, Ozan 2011). There has to be order in our society, but to what extent, is a person’s dignity and integrity put at risk or harmed. â€Å"Under capitalist social relations, direct political force is not necessary for the maintenance of economic exploitation: it is sufficient for the state as a force standing above society to guarantee that all members of society behave like owners of private property. However, the state must be a discrete, independent force, since it has to compel all members of society to recognize one another as private owners† (State and Capital. n. d. ). We all live under the same laws I feel that the state has to have some type of control to combat crime in society. To the extent that if infringes on peoples individual’s rights is when I feel that it should be reexamined. Ultimate control never works in my eyes. Everything that we approach in life should be closely examined before making a decision on if it will help or hinder us or others. Exploitation and dominance should not occur. The constitution of consensus and legitimacy involves not only the ruling class but also the ruled class and occurs within as well as outside of state institutions. I believe that the policies of the state can be imposed with dictatorial means against the majority of the population and disturbs the ascertainment of the capitalist general interest. Crime is a political concept designed to protect the power and position of the upper classes at the expense of the poor. So in conclusion, crime has no meaning unless people react to it and it simply is not fair to inflict suffering that is above and beyond to those less fortunate because you have the means to do so. The states and government in my opinion is there to provide order, predictability, security, and established procedures for the management of conflict. I do agree with Timmer’s definition of crime because the state has to have the responsibility of protecting people from crimes to the best of their ability.