Deviance by those with social capital

1. Deviance by those with social capital Elite deviance causes ‘oppression, conflict, persecution, suffering’ or ‘harm’. Forms: • White collar – crimes committed by individuals in the capacity of their job • Political – similar to white collar, except for political advantage. • Corporate – crimes or unethical behavior committed as part of company strategy • Organizational – similar to corporate • Governmental – crimes and unethical behavior committed by political and government actors in order to advance the power of the government and its rulers.

2. The Overall Context for Elite Deviance • Loss of faith in government post-Watergate • “Me” generation of greed • Lack of job stability : erosion of commitments • Urbanization leads to less personal connection and erosion of external social control • Family instability – erosion of internal control. • Income disparities – more entitlement • Business/TV/Media promoting consumption at any cost • Mass incarceration of large % of racial/ethnic groups creates an ‘us –do no harm’ versus ‘them – do all the crime’ mentality. • All this in the face of our contemporary paradoxes: • Stress on winning and success without adequate opportunity • Winning and success defined as ‘making money’.

3. Those American Values • Achievement orientation • Individualism • Universalism • Fetishism of money • Attempts to limit massive accumulations of wealth, etc. are labeled as ‘communist’ or ‘socialist’ plots. • Gov’t in the US and other advanced nations are part of the economy so business expends considerable effort to control government.

4. Set and Setting of ED • Organizational Structures • Authority • Specialized vocabulary and ideologies • Denial of responsibility • Denial of humanity of victim • Higher loyalties (hence Simon’s ‘higher immoralities’) • Condemning condemers • Fragmentation • Just my job • Not my decision • Individual Pathologies • Personality disorders: narcissism, attachment disorders, etc. • Interaction of Organizational Structure, Culture and Personality • Structure can create a permissible non-controlled/forced context • Culture provides neutralizations • Personalities run with it.

5. The context of elite deviance • Pay attention to distinction between individual-level deviance versus systemic-level (organization-wide) deviance. • Scandals and their impact: • More apparent – modern telecommunications, diversity in the press corp. • ‘Everyone does it’ – when everyone does and there’s no risk – implicitly means it’s okay. • Scandals lead to disillusionment and non-involvement by the electorate in the democratic process.

6. Other costs of ED • Financial • Loss of assets, resources and economic security • Taxpayer costs disproportionately hurt lower and middle income levels • Lower salaries, unemployment • Socioeconomic • Long term set-backs in certain communities and groups. • Negligence of infrastructure • Avoidance of social responsibilities • Growing disparity between poor/working class/middle and wealthy • Physical/health • Damage to environment –pollution, species loss, air, water and soil quality • Unsafe products • Disease, disability and disfigurement

7. Results of ED • Results of ED Behavior • More deaths and injuries than by street crime • Undermines public confidence in democratic system • Shape criminal law to focus on street crime • Huge monetary costs to society and individuals • Supports corruptive organized crime which permeates government institutions • Summary of ED Characteristics (p.12) • Acts are by upper class • Some violate criminal codes, some civic, some immoral • Some for personal gain, others for organizational gain • Low risk of apprehension and punishment • Imposed dangers on others • Able to conceal behavior for years • ED is often part of business plan • Discussion Question (see p.36) • ED includes 3 acts: economic domination, control of government, denial of basic human rights) Agree or Disagree??