Explain the reasons why left realism emerged Essay

Explain the reasons why left realism emerged - Essay Example Therefore, to fill in the radical vacuum that was prevalent in left-realists thoughts regarding crime, the left-realists had to take a position. This was meant to balance the extreme ideas regarding crime, which were being advanced by the right-realists on the one hand, and the left idealists, on the other hand (Young & Matthews, 1992). Upholding the view that crime was a matter of free will and personal choice as opposed to a behavioural problem, the left-realists emerged to criticize the politics of establishing longer sentences and more prison facilities (Matthews &Â  Young, 1986). Rather than addressing crimes through the concentration of criminals in prisons and rehabilitation centres, left realism advocated for the political class to take the causes of crime seriously. Further, the concept of left realism required that victims of crime must be taken even more seriously, considering that the fear of crime is not irrational, and everyone stands the chance of being a victim of crime (Lea, 2002). In this respect, the left-realists sought to criticize the distorted view that was being advanced by the right-realists and the left idealists. While the right realists cited crime as a function of a sick society full of moral decay and crime that is out of control, the left idealists did not take crime seriously, and thought it was simply a form of exaggerated societal panic (Lea & Young, 1984). The major focus of left realism is the victim, who should be the main concern of criminology. The left-realist also advances the view that it is out of the prevalence of unstructured inequality and perceived social injustices, that crime finds a breeding ground to grow and thrive (Matthews &Â  Young, 1986). Thus, left realism regards the establishment of better and equitable policies as a means of addressing the crime problem. The view of left realism is