The Continuing Relevance of Marxism to Critical Criminology

Since the early 1990s, the ``new directions' in Critical Criminology have consciously excluded Marxism as being out-dated. This article critically assesses the fundamental theoretical shifts within critical criminology. It argues that Marxism remains as relevant as ever for analysing crime, criminal justice, and the role of the state. There is a great need for critical criminologists to redirect their attention back to Marxist theory by developing and extending its tools of critical theoretical analysis. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Failings of Trauma‐Specific and Related Psychological Tests in Detecting Post‐Traumatic Stress Disorder in Forensic Settings

Judges and juries tend to be particularly impressed by test data, especially quantitative test data. Psychometric tests specific for assessing the presence of post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are commonly employed by forensic mental health evaluators. Most of these instruments, however, have been designed to detect PTSD in treatment or research, and not forensic, settings. Those who rely on these measures without adequate awareness of their often significant limits in correctly identifying malingering may induce finders of fact to inordinately confidently accept the presence of PTSD. This article reviews problematic structural and content components of trauma‐specific and related instruments used to evaluate PTSD and discusses the utility of specific techniques liable to be used in forensic settings to “fool” these measures.     

The failure of postmodern criminology

Postmodernism has recently washed up on the shores of criminology, and is the subject of considerable theoretical debate. This essay critically assesses some of the most trenchant and relevant components of the theoretical bases for postmodernism, and sketches out their applicability to criminology. It argues that postmodernism can be of little assistance to intellectuals committed to critique and fundamental social change. While postmodernists look down so severely at ‘old-fashioned’ ‘meta-narratives’ like Marxism, it is now they who are falling off the contemporary agenda, because they are dated and theoretically flawed. My main argument is that the theoretical imporverishment of postmodernism creates an obstacle to the development of a truly critical criminology. One of the current challenges of critical criminology is to amplify the critique of postmodern criminology and to reorient the trajectory of critical criminology away from the postmodern detour. The essay explores the historical context of the emergence of postmodernism, the modernist/ postmodernist era, deconstructionism, ‘meta-narratives’, idealism, form and content, fragmentation/pluralism/relativism, absence of progressive praxis, conservatism and Marxism.     

Occupational licensing and minorities

The costs of occupational licensing fall disproportionately on minorities and the poor. Licensing seeks to eliminate the lower-quality, lower-price services that low-income consumers would be more likely to select. Perhaps more important, however, is the impact on workers who are denied entry into the occupation. Recent evidence confirms that licensing regulations esclude less-educated and minority workers more than proportionally. The consequences for these excluded workers include unemployment or lower earnings—either by moving to a less-favored occupation or practicing without a license. The outcomes ofnonprofessional trades regulated by licensing are similar to those predicted by segmented labor market theory. Those who fail to obtain the credential (license) are denied access to the trade even if they are no less productive.