Social crisis, the national state and "security issues" from a criminological perspective

Abstract

The current social crisis is undoubtedly multilayer and structural. It concerns the basic developmental (or principal value and normative) orientations of the capitalist economy. In spite of that, it is nevertheless "resolved" within the given parameters of the existing ("modern") system. It is also evident that the weakened national state - namely the "board, which governs the community businesses of the entire bourgeois class" (Marx and Engels) - operates mainly in the interest of a global ("entire") and local capital (or business, financial and other elites). In these terms, "democracy", "freedom", "equality" and "human rights" represent in general only paper, abstract ideals, which are some light years away from the bitter empirical reality. While the increasingly "atomised" individual is expected to solve social problems and systemic contradictions more or less autonomously (or in the "best" case within the family cell), the "political structures" (on the national and, in particular, on the trans- or international level) care much more passionately for the security ("stability") and welfare of the ruling "kleptocracies". On the other hand, the prevailing language of capitalist masters addressed to their subordinates becomes more and more openly deterrent: "If you do not agree with voluntary tightening of the belt and escalation of exploitation, you will certainly and rapidly be subject to even more severe sanctions!". Or in other and even more direct words: "Work, serfs and try hard to get the chance to work at all (whatever work, for anyone, wherever, for however long and for whatever wage)!" This humiliating norm is, of course, not based on the utopia of liberation ("Arbeit macht frei") and does not imply the association of work (labour) with "honour and power" (these two goods are well attuned with wealth and its proud holders) but arises from the recognition of the ruling class that the best instrument for systematic and effective disciplining of the sellers of labour (or, louse a more contemporary label - sellers of competencies, potentials and other dimensions of "human capital") is precisely the fear of unemployment (or poverty, loss of status and the status of being without).