Interactionist View Of Crime Essay

Crime, by an agreed upon definition, is a violation of social rules and conduct. In the United States, people have conflicting views on crime and the reasons behind why certain behaviors are accepts and others are prohibited. These views can be categorized into three distinct perspectives.
The consensus view on crime is favored by those that believe that laws apply to all citizens equally. In other words, the same rules apply to the lower-class as they do to the middle-class as they do to the upper-class. People that share in this perspective consider crime to be influenced by what the majority of society considers to be harmful or immoral.
People that agree with the conflict view of crime believe that the laws are put in place to control
This is to say; the laws of society evolve as the ideas and ethics of the individuals or groups in power change. Campaigns are organized with the purpose of trying to control behavior considered immoral or to legalize behaviors that are considered harmless by today’s standards. In my opinion, this viewpoint seems to be the most accurate depiction of contemporary criminal law. Within the last several years, the United States has witnessed many changes in what is considered criminal law. For instance, same-sex marriage, once illegal across the country, is now legal in all fifty states. This came about due to influential politicians advocating for change. In other words, the beliefs of individuals in power opposed the beliefs of their predecessors. Homosexuality, once seen as immoral, is now widely accepted. It can be argued that the influential members of society, such as the politicians, act in the interests of the wealth upper-class, for they supply the funding of their campaigns. However, this is not always true. Funding can come from donations of any citizen that supports the overall message of the