[lbo-talk] Chomsky: USA "best country in the world"

Brian Siano siano at mail.med.upenn.edu
Tue Nov 4 14:45:39 PST 2003


On Tue, 04 Nov 2003 17:24:54 -0500, Wojtek Sokolowski <sokol at jhu.edu> wrote:


> Doug:
>> why so many black men turn to crime. I don't think the answer is very
>> complicated - the heritage of slavery and pervasive racism, which
>> most white people won't admit to. And that, as I said earlier, is
>> seriously fucked up.
>
>
> I do not think that view enjoys much empirical support. Those most
> screw3ed up by the system are also the ones who obey the law the most.
>
> A good, empirically grounded explanation of criminal behavior is linked
> to two concepts: alienation (dissolution of community and it social
> controls) and legitimation of crime and violence by peer groups and
> societal norms at large. More about that later, I have to catch the bus
> by now.

Let's not forget one very important fact. Crime can be _fun_.



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