NCJ Number
218985
Journal
Justice Quarterly Volume: 24 Issue: 2 Dated: June 2007 Pages: 309-334
Date Published
June 2007
Length
26 pages
Annotation
This paper assesses the common-sense, often repeated claim that a “liberal is someone who has not yet been mugged.”
Abstract
After testing the “mugging thesis” and controlling for an array of predictors of public opinion, no discernible relationship between being a crime victim and having a conservative worldview, support for conservative social policies, or punitiveness toward crime was found, as measured by support for the death penalty and for harsher courts. In summary, these results question the validity of the “mugging thesis” and, of attempts to use slogans to undermine progressive political agendas. The United States is the only Western liberal democracy that executes convicted murderers. It also has the highest per capita incarceration rate. Central to understanding why the United States is more punitive than its Western counterparts is the examination of why some Americans endorse a conservative political worldview. This paper explores one core aspect of this issue, whether crime victimization is related to (1) conservative views on crime, represented by support for punitive policies, and (2) a more general conservative worldview on social issues. The analysis is conducted within the broader context of the “mugging thesis”, the idea that “a liberal is someone who has not been mugged.” Tables, references