Criminality and economic conditionsBonger, Willem Adriaan
General
Criminality and economic conditions
Bonger, Willem Adriaan
Crime -- Economic aspects
In consequence of present economic conditions it is possible to amass
enormous wealth; but wants are still further increased relatively,
which brings it about that frauds, embezzlements, etc., are often
committed by persons of means, especially since the moral sentiments
are lost when one thinks only of gaining money. But wealth is
inconstant; he who has plenty today may be very poor tomorrow. This is
what causes the disquiet and agitation that characterizes the
bourgeoisie, and the neuroses that often follow. Finally the author
dwells upon the work of women and children, so harmful to morality and
to health.
Alcoholism. The inevitable consequence of poverty is the abuse of
alcoholic drinks. One who works too much and eats too little, who is
badly housed and ill-clad, and has no intellectual occupation, finds in
alcohol a means of forgetting his poverty. The life led by a great part
of the bourgeoisie leads also to alcoholism. The harmful consequences
of alcoholism are numerous, especially as regards criminality, because,
first, it leads directly to violent crimes, and, secondly, it
indirectly favors degeneracy.
Fatherhood. It is only for economic reasons that legal marriage, its
indissolubility, and all that belongs to it, are maintained. If each of
the parents kept his or her economic independence, there would be no
reason to take up the matter of legal regulation, and thus the question
of whether the father of the child is or is not the legal husband of
the mother would no longer concern the State.
Prostitution. Most prostitutes come from the lower strata of society.
Like the criminals they present signs of degeneracy, and from the sole
fact of degeneracy have taken on larger proportions in the proletariat
than in the other classes, though the chance that these women will
recruit themselves in this class is already greater. The other causes
of prostitution are of an economic nature, such as exploitation by
parents, bad housing, etc. In consequence of prostitution syphilis
spreads and in its turn favors degeneracy. Further, from the weakening
of their moral sentiments prostitutes are more easily led to commit
crimes.
Ignorance. The cause of the great ignorance of the working-people—an
important factor in criminality—is of an economic nature. The workers
have to exhaust their strength, and have neither the leisure nor the
means, for mental development.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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