Summary
Highlights
The video begins by engaging the viewer in a keyword matching exercise based on Marxist ideas of crime. Key terms like fraud, bribery, corruption, insider trading, negligence, and embezzlement are defined and matched to their descriptions. The viewer is instructed to jot down the correct matches and add specific terms (fraud, embezzlement, negligence) to their glossary.
This section introduces the main topic, 'What are corporate and white collar crimes?'. It explains that many crimes are linked to a person's work (occupational crime) and notes that Marxists are especially interested in crimes committed by the ruling class, which are often overlooked by police and courts. Edward Sutherland (1960) is introduced as the first sociologist to study middle and upper-class crime, coining the term 'white-collar crime'. Gary Slapper and Steve Tombs are also mentioned for categorizing class crime into white-collar and corporate crime. White-collar crime is defined as crimes by higher-class individuals for personal gain, while corporate crime is for the benefit of large companies, though individuals may also benefit indirectly.
The video provides examples to differentiate between white-collar and corporate crimes. A department store manager stealing stock and a doctor providing false prescriptions are given as white-collar crimes. A company breaking pollution laws and a business forcing workers into unsafe conditions are examples of corporate crimes. A police officer accepting a bribe and a bank manager falsifying tax returns are also categorized as white-collar crimes.
The viewer is tasked with researching real-world examples of white-collar and corporate crimes, including the MP expenses scandal, the Smiler accident at Alton Towers, and the News of the World phone hacking scandal. Links to resources are provided for this activity, which is estimated to take 20-25 minutes.
The video concludes with a fill-in-the-blanks exercise summarizing the key concepts learned. It reiterates that Marxists highlight crimes by the ruling class, known as occupational crime, further divided into white-collar and corporate crime. Examples like the MP expenses scandal (white-collar) and the Smiler accident and News of the World scandal (corporate) are revisited. The summary emphasizes the Marxist view that these crimes require more investigation and harsher punishments. The viewer is instructed to record the summary and their glossary terms.