> the absolute confidence of left-wing intellectuals,
> bordering on hubris, in the analyses and prescriptions
> they offer to working class communities and institutions ...
I'm doing nothing of the sort; I'm suggesting to YOU that your ideas about this subject don't take into account the reality that "crime rate" has more to do with specific causes in specific locations than it does general tendencies of the overall population.
As for Andie: yes, of course I know what the shape of the crime rate curve looks like, and have even mentioned that it has been going down steadily. To project this to there being "no problem" is silly. There's still a huge gap between the amount of violent crime in the US and the rest of the world, and I still believe this is a worthwhile item to consider.
/jordan