CONSUMER CULTURE AND CRIME

How might a consumer culture generate crime?

How might a consumer culture generate crime?

Introduction

Criminal acts by corporations in the United States, rather than resulting in arrest are typically managed by regulatory agencies. They can be referred to the federal Department of Justice if the regulatory agency is unable to get the corporation to comply with the regulation. These regulations are designed to control or manage an offending corporation's behavior (Williamson, 2008).

Problem Statement

Controlling, managing, and punishing corporate crime has been a difficult challenge in American history. During first major federal attempt, the 1898 Sherman Antitrust Act, passed to prevent monopolies from fixing prices on goods sold to consumers, the Department of Justice only filed 9 cases, and only 16 in the first twelve years (Weisburd, 2008). No violators were imprisoned until 1921. During the first 50 years of the law, of 252 prosecutions only 24 perpetrators went to prison. Eleven of these were businessmen and the remainder were union leaders who were being controlled by the laws sponsored by the elite controlled politicians (Sutherland, 2007).

Significance of the Study

The relationship between organized crime and local communities is not exclusively parasitic in nature. To some extent, it is also symbiotic: Organized crime can function as a local institution due to its ability to fill certain commercial and social functions. Through the underground economy, criminal organizations supply goods and services that are demanded by local populations but that have been declared illegal by the state, such as drugs, contraband cigarettes, unlicensed alcohol, sex-for-money, or gambling (Reichman, 2007). This local supply-and-demand function is integral to the creation and continued existence of criminal enterprises (Potter, 2007).

In addition, the local bookmaker or drug trafficker may reinvest his or her criminal proceeds back into the community by acquiring real estate or through purchases at local businesses. Organized crime may fill the voids associated with a community's failure to provide adequate employment opportunities, especially for those with few employable skills. Infamous gangsters such as Al Capone, Pablo Escobar, and John Gotti were often treated with affection and reverence by the poor and marginalized populations, in part because of their sizable donations to local charities (Dickie, 2006).

Literature Review

Before cases are brought to criminal court, federal and sometimes state regulatory agencies may manage the company through an administrative hearing and a consent decree asking the company to stop its behavior. Subsequently, the company may offer to clean up its mess or perform restitution to victims. Part of the problem in trying to make corporations accountable for the harms that they commit is that a Supreme Court decision in 1886, in Santa Clara v. California, declared that a private corporation is a natural person (Williamson, 2008). Thus, they have the same rights as a natural person under the law to freedom of speech, to sue, and to borrow money but unfortunately, finding culpable parties in white-collar crime cases is often quite difficult (Weisburd, 2008).

Consumer fraud or the death of consumers caused by corporate America knowingly producing and selling unsafe products ...