That’s one perspective. Another is that the truly greedy thing is to construct a society such that some people can’t afford basic necessities, and that inflicts far more suffering than people stealing what they need to live.
Here on planet earth however, some people are just anti-social and understand nothing except force. No amount of education or counselling or whatever else will change that.
You think fencing happens because of anti-social behavior? Fencing _is_ work!
The simplest explanation for why people steal and resell stuff is money. You do a thing, and at the end you have money in your pocket that you didn't do before. Not complicated!
Of course it's ... not good! Stealing is generally pretty bad, all things considered! But this idea that there are some deep psychological flaws that cause this behavior does not, I believe, represent a primary motivator for a significant portion of these acts.
Plenty of other countries have done the same, actually. The knee-jerk response of adding more cops actually makes society worse for all of us.
That said, incarcerating people is liable to immerse them into the hardened criminal culture, which is not productive and calls for some alternatives.
They don't...first offense you basically get off with a warning. Recent headlines was a case of Australian school girls shoplifting [1]. Although they're foreigners, same goes for locals.
[1] https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/6-austra...
Also the subway stories are probably more about general fear of whatever criminals are apparently lurking down there. It can get kind of scary in the subway when it's deserted. especially Upper Manhattan where it's so deep down. Meanwhile when I travel in developed Asian cities, it's not scary at all. Just really really crowded.
You only see police occasionally doing their patrols, so it can be argued there is less of a police presence than say NY. There is no need, there are cameras everywhere and its a small Island, you can't run anywhere.
With respect to the parent's comment on subway deaths: > Singapore has entirely solved the root problem in a non-carceral way by investing in infrastructure.
There are barriers that only open when the train has arrived, so there quite literally cannot be deaths from people pushing others onto the tracks. I presume that is what he means by infrastructure.
We consider them basic necessities, because we're used to them, but all these new inventions had to be made by somebody. The profit motive seems to be quite good at incentivizing people to do just that. If we discourage that then the basic necessities of tomorrow might not get invented.
Society doesn't conspire to cause poverty, nature already inflicted that upon us.
Your argument would be more sound if the people stealing were stealing for themselves instead of selling them on a marketplace at slightly below retail with a 100% margin. Their theft hurts the jobs and customers (some shops have outright closed) and it also still has the end customer paying basically the same amount.
These people could get a job, they just don’t want to be a “sucker” and work 9 to 5 like some chump.
They can go to a soup kitchen, or a church, or a food panty and ask for basic necessities.
Americans are very generous, especially conservative ones, who lead the world in charity and generosity. There is no excuse to steal when you can just ask.
Opposing social welfare is along standing political plank for conservative voters, because they don't want welfare for people not in their club.
Did you reply to the wrong person?
> because they don't want welfare for people not in their club.
Hu? If you meant to reply to me, I have no idea what you are talking about.
Churches (I assume that what you mean - what is a "Sunday social club"?) don't require a subscription fee to be given charity.
Are you just trying to be annoying or something?
Petty shoplifters should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Yet the form of theft I hear the most about, by far, is shoplifting. Why do you think that is?
Did anyone in particular construct this society, or was it just given?
You can't judge society at large by the same ethical standard that you judge an individual