Book Review: Two Faces of Deviance: Crimes of the Powerful and the Powerless
| Author | Roman Tomasic |
| DOI | 10.1177/000486587901200310 |
| Published date | 01 September 1979 |
| Date | 01 September 1979 |
| Subject Matter | Book Reviews |
184
B()()K
RE VIE\VS ANZJ
Crim
(1979) 12
reliance on the statistics
and
about
the
need
to
be cautious in interpreting them.
So often in works of this
kind
one encounters ritual disclaimers which are
then
forgotten; the statistics
tend
to
take
on a life of their
own
and
-
Frankenstein-like -assert mastery
over
the researcher.
The
author is to
be
congratulated on his careful presentation of some very useful material.
JOHN
SEYMOUR
Two
Faces
of Deviance: Crimes of the Powerful
and
the Powerless.
Paul R Wilson
and
John Braithwaite (Eds) University of Queensland Press,
pp
309 $18.90
and
$10.95.
The
sociology
of
deviance has
been
under
considerable strain in recent years
with growing pressure to reassess traditional sociological
perceptions
in this area.
In view of this,
there
is
need
for a
major
theoretical
advance
to
bring
this field of
sociology
out
of
the
doldrums.
One
attempt
to do this in
recent
years has
been
the
emergence
of a concern with the deviance of the powerful. Inspired
by
Marxist
and
neo-Marxist theories there has
been
a .growing awareness in the
sociology of deviance of the
importance
of theoretical issues which question the
basis of domination in society. As
with
many
theoretical advances however,
some compromises
need
to be
made.
In the case of the
recent
concern with the
powerful,
one
of these compromises has been adecline in
the
ready
availability
of empirical
data
due
to the difficulties of access to the
powerful
which
many
sociologists experience. As a result of this, there is a
danger
that
theories
may
suffer from insufficient factual
data
to
support
them. This
recent
collection
by
Wilson
and
Braithwaite seeks
both
to
support
this orientation in the sociology of
deviance
and
marshals an impressive
array
of empirical
evidence
to
provide
a
basis for a theoretical advance in this area.
There has long
been
a
need
for an infusion of
new
insights
and
creative vigour
into the sociology of deviance in Australia. In recent years
we
have seen the
publication
of
a
number
of collected essays which
have
contributed
to the
growth of a
more
critical
approach
to the sociology of deviance in Australia.
Two
Faces
of
Deviance provides asignificant boost to this' trend.
For
along
time the sociology of deviance has
placed
undue
emphasis
upon
the perceptions
of the
powerful
as a basis for assessing
the
deviance of
the
powerless. This
may
be
described as researching
downwards
rather
than researching
upwards.
Wilson
and
Braithwaite
perceive
this as a fascination with "pervs"
and
"pimps"
rather
than with
"powerbrokers"
or with
the
"powerful" as Pearce
would
suggest.
The
major contribution of this
new
volume
is its recognition
of
the
importance
of
examining the
deviance
of the
powerful
if the sociology of deviance is
not
to
stagnate
and
become
entirely
preoccupied
with
status
quo
concerns. Wilson
and
Braithwaite's initiative in bringing this
new
volume together is certainly
welcome
and
in keeping with the
better
such
work
that has
become
available in the
United States in
recent
years, such as
the
collections by Douglas
and
Johnson on
official deviance
and
Geis
and
Meier on white collar crime.
Wilson
and
Braithwaite
argue
that
the
voyeuristic
concern
of sociologists
of
deviance with the powerless (such as alcoholics, drugtakers
and
prostitutes) is
class biased as
the
ambiguities inherent in this
approach
to deviance allow the
To continue reading
Request your trial