Final answer:
According to Steven Spitzer's Marxist approach, the prime targets for deviant labeling are people who have social power, as they can resist such labels and redefine norms. Conflict theorists argue that capitalists get rich at the expense of the poor, perpetuating inequality. Merton's strain theory further explains that lack of legitimate means to achieve goals may lead to deviance.
Step-by-step explanation:
Using a Marxist approach, Steven Spitzer suggests that the prime targets for deviant labeling include people who have social power. This reflects the Marxist view that the powerful, or the bourgeois, exploit the proletariat. It is the concept that those in power maintain and expand their control through various authoritative agencies. Deviance, according to Marxists, is often a struggle against the unjust social order, and people with social power are less likely to be labeled as deviant because they have the means to resist such labels and redefine norms.
Conflict theory contributes to the understanding of this dynamic by positing that wealthy capitalists, or the bourgeois, get rich while workers stay poor, a relationship that creates inequality in the system. Sociologist Robert Merton's strain theory explains that when individuals lack legitimate means to achieve socially endorsed goals, such as financial success, they may resort to deviance or crime. This concept ties into the broader implications of social class on criminality and deviance, particularly when considering crimes committed by the wealthy and powerful, such as white-collar crimes, which often remain under-punished.