[hansbo]

This is probably politically incorrect, but there was always a path to end crime, just like there was and is a path to end slavery and collective punishment. That path is kindness: get a job, don't feel the urge to commit a crime, avoid prison to be sure you live a good life, and abstain from crime if you are poor. Crime continue to exist because selfish people put selfish needs ahead of sociology and human rights. People refuse to change their behavior, and, because (not "so long as") they refuse, there will be no end to crime of any sort. Sure, there are edge cases of accidental theft or something else non-criminal, but the vast bulk of cases are from irresponsible criminal behavior.

[dawnbreez]

> Get a job...

Actually, this doesn't work. Many people who are homeless--and thus, constantly committing small 'crimes' like loitering--actually have jobs. According to recent statistics, 53% of people in shelters and 40% of people living on the street are 'working homeless'.[1] It's simply not practical to live off of a single job in parts of the country where it's easy to get a single job--which makes it harder to make an honest living. And if you can't make an honest living anymore...

> Avoid prison to be sure you have a good life...

This is another problem with "Get a job". Most places will not hire someone once they have a criminal record of any kind, which means that going to jail once permanently ruins your life--there are some places that hire people with a record, but those are few, far between, and take full advantage of how desperate the people who work there are. Of course, this is only exacerbated by flaws in the criminal justice system, which include things like "evidence presented as rock-hard proof may actually be complete bunk"[2].

> Crime continue to exist because selfish people put selfish needs ahead of sociology and human rights...

I mean, I'd agree with you if you were talking about tax evasion or wage theft. In fact, wage theft makes up a larger percentage of overall theft than any of the things people think of when you say the word 'theft'. However, you explicitly stated that you're talking about people who are poor or who have a risk of going to prison, which excludes a lot of white-collar crime.

[1] https://endhomelessness.org/blog/employed-and-experiencing-h... [2] https://www.propublica.org/article/putting-crime-scene-dna-a...

[skyyler]

The comment you're replying to is a satirical take on the comment above it.

The person you're replying to almost definitely agrees with you.

[Timon3]

> That path is kindness: get a job, don't feel the urge to commit a crime, avoid prison to be sure you live a good life, and abstain from crime if you are poor. Crime continue to exist because selfish people put selfish needs ahead of sociology and human rights. People refuse to change their behavior, and, because (not "so long as") they refuse, there will be no end to crime of any sort. Sure, there are edge cases of accidental theft or something else non-criminal, but the vast bulk of cases are from irresponsible criminal behavior.

I'd wager the guess that a lot of crime committed by poor people is committed because they are poor. Think of a single mother stealing food for her and her children. They are putting their "selfish needs ahead of sociology and human rights", but I don't think people would call them unethical. You're proposing too simplistic a framework.

[kstrauser]

(Read the above as if it was Tom Swift saying we should eat babies.)

Edit: John.