¶ … feminist theories: Criminology Critical theories of criminology are associated with the writings of Karl Marx. Marx viewed the entirety of human existence as a class struggle between the haves and the have-nots of the world. Marx viewed crime as a symptom of social injustice. "Crime in capitalist societies is often a rational response to the circumstances in which people find themselves" when they have no other recourse to feed their families (Chapter 6: Critical theories: Marxist, critical, and feminist, n.d., Sage: 94). The archetypical criminal-who-is-not-really-a-criminal in the eyes of such a criminologist might be Jean Valjean: a man whose family is starving to death, so he steals a loaf of bread. Similarly, if members of the underclass believe they have no potential social mobility or access to education, they may resort to selling drugs or petty theft as a way of getting some kind of...

Although Marx himself took a rather dismissive view of criminals, critical Marxist criminologists are often sympathetic to the so-called criminal class. The true crimes, they believe, are the crimes of social oppression perpetuated against disenfranchised groups. Quite often, the crimes of the 'haves' such as the bankers during the recent financial crisis, are overlooked, while the crimes of the 'have-nots' are severely punished and extenuating circumstances are ignored. The only way to address crime is to address poverty.
Feminist criminologists also take…