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White-Collar Crime, Competition, and Capitalism: Comment on Coleman

NCJ Number
116361
Journal
American Journal of Sociology Volume: 94 Issue: 3 Dated: (November 1988) Pages: 627-632
Author(s)
J Braithwaite
Date Published
1988
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This commentary responds to an article written by Coleman in the September 1987 issue of the American Journal of Sociology on the motivators of white collar crime.
Abstract
Coleman argues that the motivators of white collar crime can be found in the social structure of industrial capitalism and in the culture of competition that capitalism fosters. The commentary contends that Coleman's work should be pursued but that a more theoretical foundation be established for capitalism and socialism issues. Associating causes of white collar crime with the competitive pursuit of profit may be theoretically constraining, since profit maximization is not necessarily the major goal of corporations. White collar crime motivated by the individual pursuit of wealth and the corporate pursuit of profit is well-established in the literature. It is argued, however, that white collar crime can also occur when people in positions of responsibility are placed under significant performance pressures to achieve economic or cultural goals, in contexts with structural blockages to legitimate means of goal attainment, and in contexts where illegitimate opportunities are more available. White collar crime may be less likely to occur when people in positions of responsibility are put under performance pressures to achieve economic and cultural goals by legitimate means only. 12 references.

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