ECONOMIC CLASS CONFLICT AS A CAUSE OF DEVIANCY

Economic Class Conflict as a Cause of Deviancy

Economic Class Conflict as a Cause of Deviancy

A non-sociological or common sense explanation of 'moral panic' would describe it as a justified reaction to a real threat to the moral fabric of society. However under closer inspection 'moral panic' is a complex economic construction with many underlying factors. The deviancy amplification spiral (Cohen 1970s OU intro chapter p23) is part of the construction of a 'moral panic' and will be described here.

Crime and especially the fear of crime has always been a feature a modern industrial society. As modern society has been developing at ever increasing rates people naturally fear change and are insecure about the future and the path society will take. This insecurity manifests itself in ideas of the' moral decline of society', which can be demonstrated as quantative evidence. Munice and Mclaughlin (1996) (OU introductory chapter p21) questioned a population sample on their fear of street crime, 37% of women aged 61 and over felt very 'at risk' from street crime, but as group were the least likely to be victims (only 1.2% of all street crime was committed against 61 plus women). Whereas the majority of street crime was committed against men and women between the ages of 16 and 30 but this group had the least fear of this crime. The older members of society have seen more change within society during their lifetime and so may feel more insecure about current affairs, which are so different than when they were in their youth.

Moral panic is when the fear of moral decline peaks and is focused on a particular event, act(s) or group of people. The formation of this moral panic is a combination of many economic forces, which respond to and fuel each other, this is known as the deviancy amplification spiral.

The deviancy amplification spiral produces a moral panic because during this process, a deviant act is selected and focused upon by the media e.g. TV news extra's, investigative journalism, Panorama. The public process this information causing widespread concern, the government agencies respond to this concern, setting up focus group's and consulting experts on the appropriate course of action. The police then focus on the deviant act so more instances are recorded and reported; the media inform the public of the increase, which in turn creates 'moral panic'.

An example of this ...