Sociology and Modern Social ProblemsEllwood, Charles A. (Charles Abram)
General
Sociology and Modern Social Problems
Ellwood, Charles A. (Charles Abram)
Social problems; Sociology
(7) The influence of certain social institutions in producing crime must
be mentioned. Here comes in especially the lack of opportunity for
wholesome social amusements among our poorer classes, particularly in
our large cities. Lacking these, the masses resort to the saloon,
gambling-houses, cheap music and dance halls, and vulgar theatrical
entertainments. The influence of all of these institutions is
undoubtedly to spread the contagion of vice and crime among their
patrons.
(8) The influence of manners and customs upon crime cannot be
overlooked. The custom in certain communities, for example, of carrying
concealed weapons undoubtedly has much to do with the swollen homicide
statistics of the United States. Vicious and corrupting customs, such as
compulsory social drinking, and the like, undoubtedly greatly influence
crime. Even the luxury and extravagance of the rich might easily be
shown to have a demoralizing effect, both upon the upper and the lower
classes of society.
The list of causes of crime in the social environment might be
indefinitely extended until the student would perhaps think that
practically everything was a cause of crime in one way or another; and
it is true that everything that depresses men in society is a cause of
crime. However, if the student has gained an impression of the great
complexity of the causes of crime, that is the main thing.
A question may here be raised whether it is possible to reduce all the
causes of crime to causes in the social environment--that is, all
subjective causes to objective. Many writers have contended that this is
possible, but we shall see that there are causes in heredity and causes
in psychological conditions, to say nothing of some possible free will
in individuals, which cannot be derived from social conditions and which
would produce crime quite independent of objective social conditions,
unless these subjective factors were also controlled. There is no reason
to believe that a perfectly just social organization which did not
attempt to control heredity and the moral character of individuals would
succeed in eliminating crime. On the contrary, biological variation
alone arising from influences independent of the environment would
produce a certain amount of crime. Crime, in other words, is, to a
certain extent, like pauperism, an expression of the elimination of the
inferior variants in society, and will continue to exist as long as we
allow the process of evolution by natural selection to go on.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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