Are criminals born or made? How so?

Running Head : THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION

The Social Construction of Criminality

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The Social Construction of Criminality

Criminality is often thought as a hereditary disease acquired by society during its precipice . In fact , structural and conflict theorists like Karl Marx and Herbert Spencer noted that criminality can be seen as formal dissension of the social body that manifests itself in different periods (Marx , 1870 /1990 . The disease ' cannot be removed , according to them it is only transformed from one form to another (Spencer 1897 . Although these theorists

never subscribe to the idea that on the individual level criminality is a disease , their assumptions reflect the dominance of the biological theory ' of criminality in the late 19th century (Ritzer , 1992 . On the individual level , criminality is seen as a non-functional form of adaptation , that is , behavior that tends to destroy the social and physical character of other individuals for any intended reason (Durkheim , 1905 /1993 . Again , theorists subscribe to the idea that this destruction of character ' is only a result of the desire of an individual to survive . One must argue , however , that such proposition never explains the complex intricacies of behavior intention , structure , and psyche . It is impossible to find a nomothetic theory that can explain fully the nature of crime . However , as one should have noted , criminality is neither hereditary nor innate . It is a social construction , perpetuated by governing factors such as gender age , health , etc

There are several theories that attempt to explain the nature of...