In Britain, the United States, and Canada, there has been a hegemonic response to deepening capitalist recession through the enactment of monetarist doctrine accompanied by an expansion of state powers through the elaboration of new social control ideologies. This is achieved through the displacement of growing class antagonisms into the realm of 'law and order' by calculated exploitation of populist sentiment relating the themes of morality, sexuality, work, and family, cast within the conceptual framework of 'good' versus 'evil.' Alternatives for the political Left in dealing with the political form of late capitalist society include (1) a fascist reorganization of political institutions; (2) a turning back to the traditional agenda of social democracy as located in corporate-liberal democracies; (3) a move toward socialism undertaken in a manner which maintains democratic-liberal traditions, such as the rule of law in a way that does not unduly constrict freedom, and (4) revolution, which would result from the further entrenchment of power in the Right met by growing mass resistance. Depending upon circumstance, a socialist criminology can endorse either of the latter town transitions. Thirty-eight references are provided.