Economic Causality Of Crime: A Study Of Bonger’s Theory & Capitalism

Ishaan Deepak Joshi, MIT-WPU, Faculty of Law

ABSTRACT

During the first half of the twentieth century, researchers who analysed the factors contributing to criminal activity predominantly attributed the origins of such behaviour to either individual agency or internal factors. According to the perspective of Willem Bonger, a renowned sociologist from the Netherlands, crime can be attributed to societal factors, particularly the influence of the economy on individuals. The author's argument was shaped by the theoretical perspectives of Karl Marx along with Fredrick Engels, as evidenced by their impact on his work Criminality and Economic Conditions, wherein he delved into the interconnectedness of crime and economic factors. Within the pages of this literary work, Bonger posited the notion of how the capitalist economic framework possesses the capacity to exert an adverse impact on society, thereby engendering criminal conduct and facilitating its proliferation. Bonger is widely regarded by scholars as a seminal figure in the establishment of analytical criminology.