Re:SF’s Black Market Thrives Off Retail Theft
by bm3719 on Saturday July 30, 2022 @10:17AM
(#32286989)
Animals, or at least most mammals and birds, can be trained. Human animals that haven't been trained with a morality system or something effectively similar have only a relatively straight-forward cost/benefit analysis as their decision calculus.
Most humans have a morality system to the extent that they'd rather starve to death than engage in cannibalism, for example. It requires more effort, but they can also be socialized to endure reduced access to drugs in exchange for not stealing.
If's funny to say that after admitting that we're animals driven by instinct.
Making morality and punishment a priority won't change a thing when people have to choose between making rent/eating lunch/buying meds or committing crimes. The easiest way to prevent criminality, is feeding people, housing, healthcare, and education on a longer timeline.
Also people tend to underestimate punishment and overestimate rewards, especially desperate people, people everywhere are routinely risking years of jail for a hundred dollars.