Crminology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Crminology - Essay Example Generally, Murray (1990) believes that the underclass has a negative impact on the moral fabric of the society and that they are responsible for the occurrences of anti-social behavior in the society. He actually believes in left realism: he ignores the possibilities that crime could also come as a result of political and ideological factors. Therefore, he considers the underclass individuals as criminal minds and as people defined by their deplorable behavior in reaction to their situation but not their situation. Murray (1990) primarily insists that illegitimacy is to be blamed for the deplorable behaviors. For instance, he comments that women under the low class have a higher probability of giving birth to illegitimate children. He asserts that these illegitimate children easily "run wild" since they do not have father role-models. Further, Murray (2001) affirms the responsibility of the underclass unwillingness to work to the rising crime and the break-down of the community life. Again, Murray emphasizes so much on left realism such that he overlooks the possibilities of crimes being caused by the powerful in the society: he believes only the poor are to be blamed. Critics however claim that Murray’s conclusions have no evidence and are baseless. For instance, Alan Walker asserts that Murrays concepts are founded on innuendos, anecdotes, and assertions. Additionally, a research done by John Ermish about single mothers, in the 1980s, established that most women never stay put as single parents. Walker further comments that individuals in the underclass apparently desire stable relationships and jobs (Biressi & Nunn, 2013). Additionally, Anita and Heather (2013) comment that single mothers who divorced in reality take averagely longer time to claim on benefits than single mothers who have never been married. Certainly, Murray’s critics are right realist thinkers; they believe that crime does not only result from the poor but from