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THE NEW CRIMINOLOGY IS THE OLD SENTIMENTALITY
Author(s) -
TOBY JACKSON
Publication year - 1979
Publication title -
criminology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.467
H-Index - 139
eISSN - 1745-9125
pISSN - 0011-1384
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-9125.1979.tb01390.x
Subject(s) - sentimentality , sympathy , criminology , excuse , immorality , sociology , enforcement , psychology , psychoanalysis , law , political science , social psychology , morality
The New Criminology is neither new nor criminology, merely sentimental overidentification with the underdog masquerading as science. This sentimentality appeals to students of crime only because criminology has traditionally been sympathetic to the underdog. The hypotheses of discriminatory law enforcement and of white‐collar immorality reflect such sympathy. The millenarial hopes of the New Criminology are illusory. That justice is imperfect even in relatively decent societies is no excuse for embracing nihilism or for giving up the attempt to maintain social order.