In these troubling times we see in the news that more and more people are losing their jobs. Hence, we see a rise in criminal activity. There was a news article that just recently caught my attention in the Wall Street Journal, âBusinesses Say Theft by Their Workers Is Up.â Here is the link to the article if you wish to see it, just copy and paste it in your search bar:
Crazjayz has probably come the closest, imo, to uncovering the actual reality behind the various nuances of "theft".
First one has to consider what theft involves: it assumes property laws, so one has to consider what goes behind the notion of ownership and entitlement.
Then one has also to consider what "stealing for survival" actually means, as opposed to "stealing for greed". At what point does one become the other? The factors involved in the judgment of "should one do it or not" multiply severalfold at this point.
And while I'm at it:
In these troubling times we see in the news that more and more people are losing their jobs. Hence, we see a rise in criminal activity.
What is the real link between these two statements? Is it really because people are finding it harder to get by and are therefore forced to steal, or they are disenchanted and feel that they are justified in stealing...or a mixture of the two?
What is the real link between these two statements? Is it really because people are finding it harder to get by and are therefore forced to steal, or they are disenchanted and feel that they are justified in stealing...or a mixture of the two?
I would say probably a mix of the two, however it has been statistically proven that economic recessions increase crime rates. Certainly in poorer areas, in any case stealing to survive is not the same as office workers stealing from their businesses as was mentioned onthe first page. My definition if stealing to survive would be when you have no other choice, ie you steal or you go hungry. Even if you are in dire financial straits you can get food stamps or here in the UK you can get state benefits, there are lots of alternatives to crime when it comes to survival. On this logic I would say that as Strop said:
they are disenchanted and feel that they are justified in stealing
is probably the moral reasoning of the thiefs behind this increase in theft. I doubt many of them have no other options.
An otherwise honest person who steals because they themselves, or their family, are starving, is not necessarily "bad," or "wrong," however, there are so many charitable organizations they should have exhausted in an attempt to find food before they resort to theft.
True there are charitable organizations out there for aid. However, there are not enough resources to go around. For example there are an insufficient amount of homeless shelters out there for the homeless. Another example is that some organizations are not having enough food for everyone. Another thing that I've noticed is that people are hardly giving money out to charity. I have seen people walk right on by the Salvation Army personnel in front of the grocery stores not donating anything and they come out with at least 150 dollars worth of groceries.
To sum it all up, in my opinion, people do not like to leave their comfort zone.
I think no matter what abiding by laws is important. If there happens to be a crisis we cannot just throw away all laws and erupt in chaos because something is going wrong. If we think its okay to disregard laws when things turn for the worse, then at what point is it okay to do so, with no definite boundaries things would be chaotically uncertain. We need to stay composed and work through things. Economic crisis happen, we just need to get through them.
It is understandable to erupt in riot if everyone is starving, dying, etc. But while we are still living decently, we need to use our democracy to change things. Things will improve, they always do. Sometimes it might just take some time.
To sum it all up, in my opinion, people do not like to leave their comfort zone.
QFT. Sadly, I would have to admit I'm mostly stuck in my comfort zone as well. Usually when It comes to homeless people and their ways of asking for money and food and less for charities though.
Well I agree with you, Flipski, in that that is better for society and most likely the individual. But if I were starving to the point of life or death, I make society as to the value of a lock of wool. That sentence is much better in Latin.
Aside: Will a mod please either get rid of the "is" or the colon in the title?
If you stole because you were on the streets and didn't have any food I would agree but if you stole for other no reason just to steal I would say it is wrong.
