Cutting the Edge: Current Perspectives in Radical/Critical Criminology and Criminal Justice.

• Author: Matthews, Rick A.
• Position: Review

Jeffrey Ian Ross, Cutting the Edge: Current Perspectives in Radical/Critical Criminology and Criminal Justice. Praeger, 1998. 226 pp., cloth, $59.95.

Jeffrey Ian Ross notes in the preface to this anthology that the individual contributions made by the authors are at the "cutting edge of radical/critical criminology and criminal justice." Overall, neither this statement by Ross nor this title of the book is misleading.

Cutting the Edge, which is primarily intended for a student audience, contains twelve chapters and is divided into two sections. The contributors to this volume represent a good cross-section of those scholars and/or activists working within the radical/critical tradition, some of whom are distinguished figures within the field of criminology.

In the first section (seven chapters) the authors explore advancements in radical/critical criminological theory. Collectively, these chapters are cutting edge because the authors explore theoretical territories which have been neglected within the broader field of criminology (e.g., demonstrating the potential contributions to criminology of the sociologist Simmel and the psychoanalyst Lacan).

The first chapter by Thomas O'Connor demonstrates the ways in which radical/critical criminologists may benefit from returning to three highly influential theorists within sociology: Marx, Weber, and Simmel. While Marx and Weber have been highly influential in radical/critical criminology, Thomas's inclusion of the neglected work of Simmel is refreshing. Robert Bohm's chapter nicely outlines the ways in which market economies are criminogenic. Bohm also provides readers with an interesting analysis of the former Soviet Union's transition to capitalism, and how this has created crime problems. Gregg Barak's chapter traces the development of critical criminology, and concludes by making the case for what he terms "integrative critical criminology." Readers will benefit from Barak's excellent overview of the development of radical/critical criminological theory. Bruce Arrigo's chapter imaginatively draws on the work of Jacques Lacan to argue that psychoanalytic semiotics has the potential to better understand crime in a post-Marxian world. Whether or not one finds value in the body of work that has been termed "postmodern," readers will have to take seriously Jeff Ferrell's chapter. Ferrell does an excellent job of delineating the linkages between postmodern and anarchist criminology. While many...