n 1848, Karl Marx issued the communist manifesto identifying the economic structures in society that control all human relations. According to Marx, class does not refer to an attribute or characteristic of a person or a group; rather, it denotes position in relation to others.

One of his key concepts is that of surplus value – the laboring class produces goods that exceed wages in value. Marx did not write on crime, but he mentioned it, seeing a connection between criminality and the inequities found in the capitalist system.

Engels portrayed crime as a function of social demoralization in which workers, demoralized by capitalist society, are caught up in a process that leads to crime and violence.

The theories in chapter nine share some common ground. First, a criminal career must be understood as a passage along which people travel. Second, the factors that affect a criminal career may include structural factors, socialization factors, biological factors, psychological factors, and opportunity factors.

The theories differ in their view of human development with life course theories suggesting people constantly change and latent trait theories claiming people are changeless due to a master trait.

Regardless of this difference, developmental theories have prompted multi-dimensional treatment efforts and strategies designed to target at-risk children.

Quiz 6 and 7