According to social conflict theory, the upper class who are considered to be wealthy, powerful and well-connected determine what is wrong and right, making it impossible for the less fortunate in the society to make any contribution. They also determine what is to be considered as criminal and which punishment should be given to people that commit such acts of crimes. It is for this reason that some elites in the society commit crimes that are punishable by the law, but because they are the law enforcers, they end up bending the rules to favor them. It is for this reason that this paper seeks to understand how the social theory of conflict applies to stealing in different countries, Cuba and the United States.
According to psychologists, people steal for different reasons and depending on the surrounding circumstances. For instance, most children steal not knowing that it is a crime and whether or not it is punishable. Other people in the society steal because they feel some people or entities have more than what is enough for them and therefore they need to have a share of the same. More so, some people steal because of forced circumstances such as hunger, diseases and the need to save themselves. However, others steal because they want to attain a higher living or social class that they cannot afford with the little income that they have which amounts to greed (Siegel, 2016). Irrespective of the reason for stealing, psychologists argue that no human being knowingly intends to harm another person and people are responsible for every action that they take (Siegel, 2016). It, therefore, implies that people need to make insightful and informed decisions for the common good because they have control over their actions.
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The case of stealing in the United States and Cuba is a good example that can be used for contrast between conflicts in different societies. The United States is a capitalist country whereas Cuba is a communist country even though they are adopting the constitutional draft that will lean more on socialism thus eliminating pure communism. Due to capitalism in the United States, the society is stratified into different social classes and there is a greater gap between the poor and the rich which according to sociologists is the source of conflict (Siegel, 2016). The laws and norms adopted by the US reflect the interest of the elite and powerful members of the society. Social order for the American society is therefore maintained through conflict and competition. The winners in such conflicts are those with power, economic resources, and higher social status.
Most people in the US engage in theft because they want to acquire more wealth so as to climb the social ladder and be respected in the society. In a capitalist country, wealth is often regarded as a social security that most individuals strive to attain. One of the easiest ways to attain wealth is through stealing as less effort is needed to do it. The poor in the society always look for avenues to steal so that they can move to the higher social class which is a desire for almost every member of the society. On the other hand in a capitalist society such as the United States, people in power and those with higher social status always strive accrue even more wealth and power. The rate of distribution of resources among the people is low, thereby predisposing the poor to more suffering. As a means to save themselves, poor people often resort to theft so as to uplift their living standards (Schmalleger, 2002). On the other hand, the rich also do not want to lose their power and social status, and therefore they can do all they could to keep their wealth which includes stealing.
On the other hand, Cuba is a communist and socialism country with emphasis on cooperative society. An individual in Cuba can steal because of the social problems such as hunger or poverty but not because they want a higher social class. Since the society is cooperative in nature and the government encourages communism, most of the crimes committed is due to the social problems that they face. Comparing such crimes with the white collar crimes, it is evident that crimes committed by low class citizens are more visual and conspicuous (Siegel, 2016). For this reason, blue-collar crimes are likely to be published more than white collar crimes committed by people in the high social class.
Based on the social conflict theory, people of low social class who steal for food are likely to receive more punishment compared to people that commit white-collar crimes. However, most blue collar crimes committed by an individual in Cuba such as stealing can be forgiven because the person did not aim to obtain what is beyond his means. Therefore, punishment for any crime conflict depends on the social status of people in the society. For capitalist societies, stealing is usually motivated by people’s yearning to obtain high life whereas in Cuba individuals can engage in theft for survival purposes.
References
Siegel, L. (2016). Criminology: the core. Nelson Education.
Schmalleger, F. (2002). Criminology today: An integrative introduction . Upper Saddle River, N.J: Prentice Hall.
