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Politics : View from the Center and Left
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To: koan who wrote (226501)6/24/2013 4:25:08 PM
From: cosmicforce  Read Replies (2) of 541416
 
I think your description externalizes the problem and removes too much accountability for the individual. People ultimately have responsibility for their actions and while the things you name make it more likely for property crimes, there are other options to raise money that don't involve breaking into homes and terrorizing people. Dealing in low-level contraband is an example of a (arguably) morally superior (IMO) means of raising money if one is without resources. There are many countries with more poverty and lower theft and crime than we have.

Anomie is a term to describe the detachment of individual from the rule of law. No amount of social spending will make a sociopath feel empathy for the people they robbed. Crime is not just about lack of opportunity because some people would NEVER steal from an individual, though they might panhandle, beg, shoplift or sell drugs. A significant number of people who feel marginalized may steal even when there are morally neutral alternatives in good economies. It isn't because they don't have a job or a social program, though that probably contributes to people making the robbery/theft choice in the margins. The graph below shows the statistics. Yes, sometimes theft is high where people are poor, but more often not... it clearly isn't about social spending.

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