Abstract
Cohen and Machalek’s (1988) evolutionary ecological theory of crime explains why obscure forms of predation can be the most lucrative. Sutherland explained that it is better to rob a bank at the point of a pen than of a gun. The US Savings and Loans scandal of the 1980s suggested ‘the best way to rob a bank is to own one’. Lure constituted by the anomie of warfare and transition to capitalism in former Yugoslavia revealed that the best way to rob a bank is to control the regulatory system: that is, to control a central bank. This makes possible theft of all the people’s money in a society. The criminological imagination must attune to anomie created by capitalism, and to the evolutionary ecology of lure.
Highlights
From Sutherland to an ecology of lureIn conceiving of white‐collar crime, Sutherland (1983) argued that the best way to rob a bank was not at the point of a gun, but at the point of a pen
This article argues that, while the US is the heartland of the most influential forms of both criminology and capitalism, criminological theory has not been as enriched as it might have by white‐collar crime scholarship because it has been overly focused on the US, with some nodding recognition to Western European ‘varieties of capitalism’ (Hall and Soskice 2001)
Peacebuilding Compared has so far coded 39 armed conflicts. We have used these data, for example, to understand how Ponzi schemes operate in Papua New Guinea, how Nugan Hand and Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) operated in Burma, how Presidents Mobutu and Kabila transformed the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) from the second most industrialized and sophisticated economy in Africa to rock bottom in GDP per capita and in the United Nations (UN) Human Development Index list
Summary
From Sutherland to an ecology of lureIn conceiving of white‐collar crime, Sutherland (1983) argued that the best way to rob a bank was not at the point of a gun, but at the point of a pen. White‐collar crime scholars in the US during the 1980s Savings and Loans scandals globalized an evocative refinement of this insight with ‘[t]he best way to rob a bank is to own one’. This became a theme of many journal articles and the title of Black’s (2005) fine book. These were storylines that helped develop criminological theory, continuing the Sutherland tradition of contending that criminological theory that neglects high crimes of capitalism is a worryingly truncated form of theory. The article maintains that Sutherland was wrong to say that the best way to rob a bank is at the point of a pen; and that it is false that ‘the best way to rob a bank is to own one’
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
