NCJ Number
77198
Journal
Crime and Delinquency Volume: 27 Issue: 2 Dated: (April 1981) Pages: 169-190
Date Published
1981
Length
22 pages
Annotation
This essay traces the transformation of postwar American liberalism from an optimistic to a pessimistic viewpoint via an analysis of the shifting liberal perspective on crime and punishment.
Abstract
Postwar American liberalism was an optimistic ideology which assumed the possibility of resolving the problems of the social order within the context of capitalism. This optimism has now been shattered. Because the question of the appropriate social response to the criminal has always been of deep concern to liberals, the changing attitude toward punishment provides a clear example of the collapse of the liberal faith in its capacity to fashion effective social policies and institutions. The exhaustion of the rehabilitative ideology, which for so long was associated with the liberal posture on crime and punishment, marks this change. This essay examines the writings on crime and punishment in six journals of opinion that have been identified with the various currents of postwar liberalism: 'Commentary,' 'Commonweal,' 'The Nation,' 'The New Republic,' 'The Progressive,' and 'The Reporter.' Editorials, articles, and book reviews published between 1945 and 1975 are examined to determine not only what was said, but also how statements are presented, including the language, the diction, and the tone of the material. Liberal thought tended to emphasize crime's social roots as well as its psychological bases. As in efforts to discover specific factors contributing to the prevalence of criminality among adults, great emphasis was placed on the role of poverty and racism in the 'creation' of juvenile delinquency and on unemployment. In addition, those who minimized the role of socioeconomic factors tended to suggest that the undeniable overrepresentation of the poor and, especially of the black and Hispanic underclass, in the official statistics on delinquency was an artifact of police practices. Virtually all writers in liberal journals were uncomfortable with the prospect of holding juveniles entirely accountable for their crimes. However, in the 1970's, liberal journals began expressing grave concern about the capacity of institutions to survive under disrupting conditions (riots and civil disobedience). Thus, the liberal outlook began to resemble the conservative perspective. The literature review reveals a growing recognition among liberal writers of the seriousness of urban crime and a profound shift from the rehabilitative ideology to a more punitive response to criminals. A total of 105 footnotes are included. (Author abstract modified)