Power and crime: a theoretical sketch

Abstract

ABSTRACT The article contains a sociological theory of power and crime, demonstrating how crime is socially constructed, relative to power. It is argued that crime is socially constructed differently when power structures are either legitimate or illegitimate, and when power is either coercive or based on authority. Legitimacy has both a sociological and normative meaning, which are not the same. While the emphasis is sociological, the article also contains a normative theorization of crime, relative to political power. The normative aspect hinges on the distinction between dominating power, which is zero-sum, and enabling power, which is positive-sum.