ABSTRACT
Most de¿nitions of crime contain a core component that identi¿es crime as the violation of the laws of a social unit, such as a nation-state (Siegel 2007). We tend to accept this notion uncritically, as if the laws of a nation-state or other social unit are divine, occur in a vacuum, or, at the very least, represent some majority sense of the most important prevailing norms of our human communities. Criminologists recognize that none of the above is true. Laws are the products of legislators and other government of¿cials who often are controlled by special interest power and money (Siegel 2007, Coleman 2006). All groups within social units have their own interests and there are many interests that cut across groups. As one would expect, however, those who have the greatest number of effective lobbyists (those with wealth and power) will be the victors in the struggle for control of the law. What is best for the vast majority of the population will not matter.
