the answer to these apparent conundrums is that the undefined shared morality that justifies the use of the state's coercive criminal law powers turns out to reflect the premises of the dominant ideology at any given time. at the present time, it reflects the needs of a matured capitalism. the term "shared morality" is not a scientific one, but a slogan that hides the highly politicized nature of an exercise that classes certain conduct as criminal and certain actors as criminals. the people who hold the balance of power-whether the power is economic or political (or more likely, both)-are not likely to want to have their everyday activities described as being criminal or to be stigmatized for doing what the current dominant practice requires them to do. it is their needs, and, therefore, their political representatives' efforts, that determine the kind of values that our criminal law is to protect.
Canada