A Sociology of Justice

Although literature on causes and prevention of crime now transcends disciplinary lines, it can still be categorized by the questions addressed. One line of research expands upon questions posed and answers given in the nineteenth century. Another line of research is predicated on a series of criticisms of the nineteenth-century approach, criticisms that appeared in the 1920s and 1930s. This latter line goes well beyond Marxism, offering fundamentally different ways to define and study justice that go beyond conventional political, philosophical, and social scientific debate. The major literature of this sociology of justice is identified and emergent directions indicated.