"Libertarian Realism" compared to "Left Realism" in Criminal Justice
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of new sub-branches have developed.
As a criminologist, Dr. Rex Curry contributes to the branch of
criminology known as "Libertarian Realism." Libertarian realism
attempts to reconcile critical views with the social realities of crime
and its impact on all classes and individuals. Libertarian realists
recognize that predatory crimes are not revolutionary acts other than
when they are large-scale criminal acts committed by government and
government officials. The only proper purpose of government is to
protect people from violence and theft. Government often does the
opposite. Crime is an overwhelming problem perpetrated foremost by
government and politicians against individuals in a society.
Regardless of its origins, according to libertarian realists, crime
must be dealt with by individuals protecting themselves from all
criminals, be they street thugs or government employees.
Radical Libertarianism provides a comparison to radical feminism.
According to the book "Introduction to Criminal Justice" by Larry
J. Siegel and Joseph J. Senna, radical feminism has tried to explain
how capitalism places particular stress on women and to explicate the
role of male dominance in female criminality. Siegel and Senna discuss
"radical feminism" in conjunction with "left realism." The
Siegel/Senna book was the first textbook used by Professor Rex Curry as
a college instructor in criminal justice and it inspired some of Dr.
Curry's work in the field.
Radical libertarianism has tried to explain how socialism places
particular stress on all individuals, women or men, and to explicate
the role of government dominance in general criminality. In support,
Professor Curry points out that the worst criminals were governments
and government officials. The greatest need for criminal justice was
during the socialist Wholecaust (of which the Holocaust was a part):
under the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (65 million people
slaughtered); under the National Socialist German Workers' Party (21
million); under the Peoples' Republic of China (35 million).
Peacemaking criminology views crime as just one form of violence among
many that are caused or exacerbated by government, such as war,
genocide and democide. Peacemakers call for universal recognition in
justice of individual rights and property rights as a means of
eliminating antisocial acts. They argue that the old methods of
government are a failure and that new methods must be recognized
wherein the government is not the initiator of violence against
non-violent acts among consenting adults. When statists insult
libertarian ideas and claim that the crime rate dropped in the 1990s
because the number of people in prison was at an all-time high,
libertarian peacemakers counter by citing studies showing that
imprisonment rates are not related to crime rates (especially for
non-violent acts that should not be considered "crimes" at all),
and that no consistent finding has been reached that locking peaceful
people up helps reduce crimes, and that upward of two-thirds of all
prison inmates recidivate soon after their release.
Liberty criminology and Peacemaking criminology serve as the basis of
the restorative justice perspective. Rather than being adversarial and
punitive, the justice system should strive to restore damaged
individuals and their rights. Harsh punishments have become the norm.
The free-market economy provides many alternatives including
arbitration, mediation, restitution, insurance, self-defense tools,
private security, and even private court systems. This call for
justice has helped to focus attention on the plight of individuals when
they confront the government officials, governments, and the justice
system. Programs that have developed as a result include inexpensive
methods of protection for the indigent and everyone, laws protecting
Second Amendment rights, and private institutions to aid victims of
government abuse.