Graded assignment 2 – Introduction to sociology – steffie coolen – 2135425
Find an article from a (inter)national newspaper that deals with one of the following topics:
Poverty, violence, crime, terrorism, environment, or religion. (Not older than September 1,
2024).
I have chosen for an article about crime from the New York times: In the Sean Combs case,
echoes of the tack taken against other powerful men.
In the assignment:
(1) State the main topic/points of the article (150 words):
This article talks about the prosecution of rapper Sean Combs, for sex trafficking and
racketeering laws. It is about the legal strategies that are being used in this case, the
article connects this to the prosecution of other powerful men that were also accused
with abuse (sexual) against women. The prosecutors are using racketeering of charges
to pursue these powerful people (like Combs). Because this is designed to present the
complex web of individuals that helped the defendant with their crimes, and it can go
back many years, which allows prosecutors to cite crimes the state statue as expired.
This can cause the defendant to get a higher prison sentence. “Powerful” individuals
became stronger because they were backup by a group, racketeering statute gives more
prosecutorial power to bring these people justice. Cases like Combs were often
unprosecuted because prosecutors were scared it would be he said/she said especially
against powerful individuals. But after the first #metoomovement it showed it could be
done (Jacobs, 2024).
(2) Give a sociological explanation of the topic form:
a) The conflict paradigm (Historical Materialism/Marx) (300 words):
The article about the case of Combs can be explained through historical materialism
by looking at the differences in power in justice between the powerful individuals (the
defendant/Combs) and the victims (like his ex-girlfriend) they have made. Marx
explains that the power in society is mostly in the higher social classes (rich/famous),
this would be Combs. People like Combs have a big name in the industry, because of
their fame and power, people are scared if they stand against them this will damage
their careers. Like with the example in the lector “if you don’t want to do the work
you will be replaced”. This creates an inequality of the people Combs was abusing, his
victims felt like he has a power over them “you can better accept what has happened
or your careers will be damages”. Like the article talks about powerful men, they are
most known to get away with criminal acts because of the influence they have.
Capitalist society also sees men as higher than women (most of the time), which
makes society belief men more than women, so when women come forward with for
example sexual abuse, they are less likely to be believed than the men how clams to be
no guilty. Like explained in the lecture, law is part of the superstructure, powerful
individuals (especially men) have been protected by this legal system, so that the base
would be maintained. Because of this the victims (like Combs ex-girlfriend) have been
threated inequality. Because of movements like the #metoo, this seems to be changing.
In the legal system wealth can be used as power because wealth can be used to settle
the lawsuit and pay the other person (like Combs ex-girlfriend) money, to make the
case (privately) so away (Jacobs, 2024; Peper, lecture 5 - introduction to sociology,
September 9, 2024; Volle, 2022).
Find an article from a (inter)national newspaper that deals with one of the following topics:
Poverty, violence, crime, terrorism, environment, or religion. (Not older than September 1,
2024).
I have chosen for an article about crime from the New York times: In the Sean Combs case,
echoes of the tack taken against other powerful men.
In the assignment:
(1) State the main topic/points of the article (150 words):
This article talks about the prosecution of rapper Sean Combs, for sex trafficking and
racketeering laws. It is about the legal strategies that are being used in this case, the
article connects this to the prosecution of other powerful men that were also accused
with abuse (sexual) against women. The prosecutors are using racketeering of charges
to pursue these powerful people (like Combs). Because this is designed to present the
complex web of individuals that helped the defendant with their crimes, and it can go
back many years, which allows prosecutors to cite crimes the state statue as expired.
This can cause the defendant to get a higher prison sentence. “Powerful” individuals
became stronger because they were backup by a group, racketeering statute gives more
prosecutorial power to bring these people justice. Cases like Combs were often
unprosecuted because prosecutors were scared it would be he said/she said especially
against powerful individuals. But after the first #metoomovement it showed it could be
done (Jacobs, 2024).
(2) Give a sociological explanation of the topic form:
a) The conflict paradigm (Historical Materialism/Marx) (300 words):
The article about the case of Combs can be explained through historical materialism
by looking at the differences in power in justice between the powerful individuals (the
defendant/Combs) and the victims (like his ex-girlfriend) they have made. Marx
explains that the power in society is mostly in the higher social classes (rich/famous),
this would be Combs. People like Combs have a big name in the industry, because of
their fame and power, people are scared if they stand against them this will damage
their careers. Like with the example in the lector “if you don’t want to do the work
you will be replaced”. This creates an inequality of the people Combs was abusing, his
victims felt like he has a power over them “you can better accept what has happened
or your careers will be damages”. Like the article talks about powerful men, they are
most known to get away with criminal acts because of the influence they have.
Capitalist society also sees men as higher than women (most of the time), which
makes society belief men more than women, so when women come forward with for
example sexual abuse, they are less likely to be believed than the men how clams to be
no guilty. Like explained in the lecture, law is part of the superstructure, powerful
individuals (especially men) have been protected by this legal system, so that the base
would be maintained. Because of this the victims (like Combs ex-girlfriend) have been
threated inequality. Because of movements like the #metoo, this seems to be changing.
In the legal system wealth can be used as power because wealth can be used to settle
the lawsuit and pay the other person (like Combs ex-girlfriend) money, to make the
case (privately) so away (Jacobs, 2024; Peper, lecture 5 - introduction to sociology,
September 9, 2024; Volle, 2022).
