1. Edwin Sutherland "discovered" white collar crime because he insisted that scholars pay attention to the crimes of more affluent individuals and groups. Why do you think that often white collar crime and those crimes that take place in affluent communities are often ignored or neglected in favor of the crimes committed in less affluent communities?
2. If capitalism is the cause of crime, how do you explain crime in a socialist society?
3. White collar crimes are often overlooked or ignored in communities because they do not see them as a serious crime compared to crimes in a poorer part of a community. White collar crime is often covered up or taken care of right away. I think that in affluent communities if there is a disturbance and the police come over the person is more likely to know the officer and is able to talk his way through a warning or make the officer believe that everything is fine. In less affluent communities sometime people are less educated and are more likely to be a substance user, so they can become more combative or have a history of crime.
White collar crime can be just as harmful as any other type, many people think that it doesn't harm because it's not murder or something that is dangerous to the community. But take a crime like embezzling many think this type of crime is not the same as murder, where I agree it's not the same it can ruin people's lives just as murder can.
4. There are a few reasons why I believe white collar crime is ignored. First, because white collar individuals are wealthy and people tend to think that richer people commit far less crimes than people who are poor. For whatever reason, it has always been that rich people do not commit crimes, rich neighborhoods are safer, and it is the poor people and the poor neighborhoods that society needs to watch out for. Second, I believe white collar crimes are ignored more often because wealthy people are able to afford to pay people off outside of court rather than taking the case to court. Wealthy people can also afford better attorneys to represent them. And lastly, I believe white collar crime is ignored because white collar crime is not usually violent crime. Embezzlement, extortion, and crimes along those lines are more white collar crimes. Violent crimes and property crimes are less common among white collar people.
5. If capitalism is the cause of crime, how do you explain crime in a socialist society?
Capitalism while it is a large causation of crime it does not account for mental disorders, or emotions. Capitalism is a large part in why people commit crimes but in a socialist society they experience crimes just in different aspects of their lives.
If someone's basic needs are not meet they will do what they believe they need to, to get it. This is the same in a socialist society, everyone has what they believe are their basic needs, whether that be accurate or not is besides the point. I have what are MY basic needs and other have what they feel are their basic needs. In a socialist society there is still a food chain, or chain of upper, middle, and lower class. They still have to fight and work for what they need as much as we do. In this type of society there are still emotions that will overcome people and crime will still happen.
6. When it comes to capitalism, there are private companies that run production and trade of certain products. This capitalism can cause crime because it is in our human nature to be greedy and to always want more. Therefore, these companies do whatever it takes to make the most profit and earn the most money they can so they can live amazing lifestyles. In a socialist society, production and trade of goods is run more by society and less by private companies. However, there is still going to be crime because, like I mentioned before, it is human nature to be greedy. No one is ever satisfied, people always want more so regardless of what society we live in, whether it be capitalism or socialist, crime is never going to go away.