Social Development and Conflict Theory - Essay Example

Paper on Social bond, Social Development, Social Conflict, and Conflict Theory Introduction There arevarious factors that drive crime rate in any country. Poor economic condition and social structure are considered to be the major factors that drive the rate of crime in developing as well as the developed society. However, it is not always that the poor economic conditions increase the rate of crime, sometime the rate does increase while the economy is at its peak as well. Better economic conditions may increase the crime rate as more people are out flashing their brand new tablets, smartphones and people have bigger television sets in their houses, etc. Better economic conditions also increase the demand of alcohol and drugs as people have extra money to spend. The evidence stating that good economic conditions drive crime rate and drug use is not much, however, there is ample evidence present which indicates that bad economic conditions drive the stated factors. Discussion Conflict theory is based on the fact that all the causes of crime are related to the economic and social forces that operate within the society. The criminal laws and the criminal justice system are considered to be operating on the behalf of powerful social elite, with the policies aimed at keeping the poor under control. The establishment of the criminal justice aims to impose the standards of good behavior and mortality that are created by the powerful for the whole society. Another aim of this establishment is focusing on the separation of powerful from the economically disadvantaged people who would then steal from others and would protect them from physical attack. In this process the legal rights of the poor are usually ignored. The middle class also chooses the elites instead of the poor, thinking that they might reach to the level of the elites by supporting the status quo. Stain theory suggest that the social structure often provokes people to commit crimes. This is suggested by the conflict theory as well. Although both the theories are different yet the conclusion that can be drawn from it is somewhat similar. Conflict theory states that there are several social forces that drive crime; whereas conflict theory suggests that crime occurs because of the ineffective social structure. There are various researches present, which suggest that there is small percentage of people controlling most of the wealth of the world. A research conducted by Forbes states that the 85 richest people present in the world hold more wealth than the 3.5 billion poor people of the world. Almost half of the wealth present in the world is owned by only one percent of the people. The wealth of 1 percent richest people present in the world is around $110 trillion. This amount if 65 times more than total wealth of the bottom half of the people present in this world. Seven out of 10 people are currently living in countries where the economic inequality is at its peak (Shin). One of the biggest challenges for any country is to recover from the past recession. Deleveraging in the public as well as the private sector is the main inhibitor of growth throughout the forecasting period. Crime is one of side effects of the bad economy. Crime is bad for the economy because it disturbs the law and order situation of the country. It does effects business and foreign investment to some extent. When a country’s economy is bad or certain departments face budget cuts the rate of crimes like theft increases. People who are not able to fulfill their basic need legally start adopting illegal means. This also affects the resources of the state and the federal as the government has to take expensive measure to stabilize the situation. Government also starts hiring more policemen for protecting the areas from thefts. Social workers are also hired by the government as it considers them a link through which they may reach the economically deprived people and try to understand their condition in detail. The government then comes up with measure to resolve the problem (Lehrer). Robin Hood is a memorable character. He is addressed as the savior of the poor because he took/snatched things from the rich and distributed it among the poor. Every time Robin Hood did this he was putting himself in danger for the sake of poor because what he was doing was against law; however the poor were at his side for he was their only hope to cope with the unfavorable economic consequences. He also struggled to save the people from the tax rise. He robbed the tax money and distributed it among the needy. Robin Hood however have been outlawed i.e. he was living outside the protection of the law. Robin Hood was not considered to be a common criminal by the people as he robbed from the rich and distributed it among the poor. The poor were not afraid of him and they considered him their savior. However the rich and the corrupt considered him their enemies. Robin Hood is someone who was the birth of the bad economic and social conditions. He was forced to commit crime because of the corruption and injustice present in the society. Poor considered them their hero because he was a hope for them in their darker days. Although want he did was against law but it was because of the consequences created by the society. The example of Robin Hood can be directly linked with the Conflict theory where the social and the economic conditions provoke the person to commit crime (Wright). The economic conditions of the country do affect the crime rate in that country. Research suggests that the crime rate fall during the good economic conditions, whereas it rises again during the bad ones. However there is limited evidence present which suggest that crime rate decreases during good economic conditions. There are studies present which suggest that the crime rate increase and decreasing during certain seasons for a particular period of time. However these trends do not last for a longer period of time. Some of the laws enforcing experts are constantly questioning the effectiveness of the law enforcing system in combating crime. The rapid advancement in technology is also considered a blessing as it has decreased the crime rate in the recent years. Smart money is another venture of technology that has contributed in decreasing the rate of crime in the developed countries (The Puzzling Relationship Between Crime and the Economy). Correctional facilities can be quite effective in this case because it helps the offenders and provide them with assistance and service and also ensures that a proper control is being maintained by them. Research suggests that alcohol and drug consumption in the time of bad economy goes up because people in order to escape from stress and low sales adopt such means. Some people often suffer major losses in businesses, which may result in depression and hence they starts consuming alcohol and drugs to cope with stress, depression and anxiety. Conclusion Social structure and law enforcing system plays a crucial role in maintaining the law and order situation in a country. When people are getting what they want without any discrimination the rate of crime will be much lower. However our social structure isn’t that simple. The government does not provide all the necessities to the citizen. The citizens have to struggle to make both the ends meet. Under such conditions they may have to face certain circumstances that decreases their morals and forces them to break the law. These circumstances can be discrimination, corruption, injustice, etc. Work Cited Lehrer, Eli. Crime and Economy: What Connection? 2014. 8 May 2014 . Shin, Laura. The 85 Richest People In The World Have As Much Wealth As The 3.5 Billion Poorest. 2014. 8 May 2014 . The Puzzling Relationship Between Crime and the Economy. 2013. 8 May 2014 . Wright, Allen W. Robin Hood. 2013. 8 May 2014 . Read More