To work and not to be a worker: class belonging, class recognition and criminality

• Autor(a) principal: Freitas, Amílcar Cardoso Vilaça de
• Data de Publicação: 2019
• Outros Autores: Costa, Elizardo Scarpati
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Revista Direito GV
• Texto Completo: https://periodicos.fgv.br/revdireitogv/article/view/78024
• topic: Social class; Class belonging; Work ethics; Crime-life; Juvenile delinquency; Classe social; Pertencimento de classe; Ética do trabalho; Vida no crime; Adolescentes em conflito com a lei

In this paper, we intend to discuss the perceptions and positions concerning the social class issue from the standpoint of young men engaged in drug trafficking in the Great Vitória Metropolitan Area (RMGV). The empirical data consists on fortyfive semi-structured interviews and participant observation, run by 18 months, in facilities for juvenile delinquents. In spite the fact that they could consider their daily criminal activities as “work”, they did not consider themselves as “workers”. We shall debate the distinction the subjects made between “laborers” and “vagabonds” in its moral implications, as well as source of income and in consumption. Hence, we will discuss how this group perceives issues concerning work ethics and social class. We intend to evince how moral issues are employed in these classifications, concerning criminal condemnation and possibilities of consumption – either due to ilegitimity of the money that comes from criminal activity, or due to instability of crime-life.