What Might a Conflict Theorist Conclude About Deviance If an Upper-Middle-Class

question 52

Multiple Choice

What might a conflict theorist conclude about deviance if an upper-middle-class white college student is sentenced to rehab for the same drug crime that a lower-class black man is sentenced to jail for committing?

• A) Different levels of punishment are functional, as they keep the most productive members of society out of jail.
• B) Criminals from the lower class should be more harshly punished, as they are more likely to re-offend.
• C) The two criminals probably had very different motives for committing their crimes, and this explains the difference in punishment.
• D) The rules are applied unequally, and those with power or influence are punished much less harshly than others.

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Definitions:

Dominant Culture

The cultural values, practices, and beliefs that are most widely shared or held in high esteem by the majority of a society or group.

Middle Passage

The sea voyage segment of the triangular slave trade route, infamously brutal, that transported enslaved Africans to the Americas.

Pre-enslavement

The historical period or the conditions experienced by individuals or communities before they were subjected to slavery.

Slave Passage

Refers historically to the Middle Passage, the traumatic sea voyage that transported millions of Africans to the Americas as part of the transatlantic slave trade.