Illegitimate Opportunity Structure: A Crime Against the Classes

Who would have thought that the social classes that people are in could determine the types of crime they commit? In discussing street crime and white-collar crime this past week, I discovered that social status can drive people toward different styles of crime. Poorer people are more likely to commit street crimes, like mugging or robbery, because of the messages that society deals them; while our materialistic society socializes the poor into wanting everything from iPods to Xboxes, their financial standing doesn't support them obtaining those things. Poor people may also turn to stealign thigns because they see no other way to provide for their families. A good education, the number one tool for success, is often unattainable for the lower class, giving them no opportunity to move forward. 

While we may label all muggers as immoral, they may see no other way to provide for their family. Have you ever considered the motives behind street crimes before?
On the other hand, members of the upper and middle classes sometimes abuse their knowledge by channeling it into white-collar crimes, in attempts to aggrandize their social standing. White-collar crimes include evading income tax, bribing public officials, and embezzling, crimes that all take a certain amount of intelligence to execute.

Illegitimate opportunity structure causes the criminals of each class to commit crimes that specifically pertain to their own situations. While members of poor communities may turn to drug dealing to make a quick profit, perhaps out of necessity, members of the middle and upper class may use corporate crime to gain more prominence than they previously had. Though it makes sense to categorize crimes by people's social classes, I'd never really thought that social classes could condition people into committing certain types of crimes. Do you believe that the social class a person belongs to determines what kind of crime they will commit? 

This issue is eerily reflected in the lyrics of "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked" by Cage the Elephant, which tells of a prostitute, a mugger, and a corrupt priest, all who justify their corrupt actions by saying their social status gives them no alternative choices. If you don't feel like watching the whole lyrics video below, the gist of the poor crowd's rationalization of their actions can be attained from the chorus:

There ain't no rest for the wicked /

Money don't grow on trees /

I got bills to pay /

I got mouths to feed /

Ain't nothing in this world for free /

No I can't slow down /

I can't hold back /

Though you know I Wish I could /

No there ain't no rest for the wicked /

Until we close our eyes for good.