Essentialism, Radical Criminology and Left Realism

Abstract

IntroductionThis article is a reflection on recent radical criminology in the Australian and British contexts. The main focus, consonant with the theme of the book, is the project generally known as left realism or radical realism in criminology. Left realism is most clearly represented by a series of publications and activities (which constitute a theoretical and political intervention in British criminology of considerable significance; an attempt to develop a political criminology on the left which takes crime problems seriously and offers a program of reforms that are both progressive and realisable in Britain in the 19808 and 19908.While there have been left realist resonances within American (Platt and Takagi,

Liberal Democracy and the Politics of Criminal Justice in Australia

“…This is not the place to review the history of criminology in more detail, other than to note the common-sense view held by many observers and practitioners which recognises both "agency" and "structure" as explanatory elements. 100 The point is rather that the interplay between individualist and structuralist conceptions of the meaning of crime (this "pendulum of fashion" as Young has termed it) 101 has reinforced the policy oscillations within the criminal justice systems in liberal democratic polities.…”

Shadow Boxing with an Imaginary Enemy — A Response to “Law and Order Blues”

“…A somewhat heated debate followed largely in the United Kingdom (UK), which included a level of posturing and name calling all round. Two of us, as Australian criminologists "identified with a "taking crime seriously" position within Australian radical criminology" (Brown & Hogg, 1992b, p. 195) reviewed the debate critically and at some length (1992a;1992b;Hogg, 1988). We expressed a "qualified support for the realist concern with specific and realisable policies for crime prevention and control and the conditions for their implementation by reform governments and other organisations and movements here and now" (Brown & Hogg, 1992b, p. 195).…”