The basis for Karl Marx's development of socialist thought came from mainly from the conflict between classes. Marx had a strong belief that the economic system to which an area conformed to had total control over every part of life. .
Marx was a big opponent of capitalism because he believed that capitalism led to conflict between classes, that is the capitalists or bourgeoisie and the proletariat or working class. In Marxist thought, the word class does not refer to an attribute or characteristic of a person or a group; rather it denotes position in relation to others (Siegel 257). To be a member of the capitalist class did not necessarily denote a particular amount of wealth or prestige but to be a member of the capitalist class was to have the power to exploit others economically, socially and politically (Siegel 257). It is within this belief that Marx developed his theory of the relationship between crime and class and this also the basis of the conflict theory. .
Marx's belief that class is equal to the power to exploit is the basis for his theory that there is a relationship between economic structure and crime rates. Marx's theory states that the capitalist means of production creates a class conflict. This is very similar to the conflict criminological theory which states that crime is a function of class conflict. This theory uses the fact that law is defined by those who hold the political and social power. The conflict theory and Marx's theory differ slightly in that the conflict theory just states that the reason the class conflict accounts for the differences in crime rates while Marx goes further to blame economic structure for differences in crime rates among the classes and Marx also says that crime is merely a rebellion of the lower class to the oppression and exploitation by the bourgeoisie or upper class. .
Radical Marxists believe that there is an evident causal relationship between capitalism and crime.