Conflict criminology derives its name from the fact that theorists within the area believe that there is no consensual social contract between state and citizen.
Structural Marxist criminology, which is essentially the most 'pure' version of the above, has been frequently accused of idealism, and many critics point to the fact that the Soviet Union and such states had as high crime rates as the capitalist West.
A seminal book on the subject, The New Criminology, by Taylor, Walton, and Young, was considered groundbreaking and ahead of its time at the point of its publication in 1973.
However, 11 years later, co-author Jock Young turned against the work, claiming it too was overly idealistic, and began to form yet another line of criminological thought, now commonly known as Left realism.
His method involved a comprehensive view of the subject, incorporating historical, sociological, psychological, and legal factors into the analysis.
Vold introduced the theory in 1958,[2][full citation needed] in Theoretical Criminology, approaching an understanding of the social nature of crime as a product of the conflict between groups within the same culture.
Turk [3][full citation needed] draws on the work of Ralf Dahrendorf, who expanded on Marxism's emphasis on the social relations of production as a key to understanding power and focused on the struggle in a modern industrial society for institutional authority.
This is power exercised by the social institutions that dominate everyday life; the authority vested in groups which control key positions in religious, educational, governmental, and even family relations.
If fewer offenders are brought before the courts, the judges may increase the severity of the sentences in an attempt to offer a general deterrent.