NCJ Number
109460
Journal
Sociological Focus Volume: 21 Issue: 1 Dated: (January 1988) Pages: 95-112
Date Published
1988
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This paper takes a theoretical approach to one aspect of a practical problem: Why is there so much crime?
Abstract
While this has been a much researched question, most commentaries have not treated explicitly or extensively the phenomenon of guilt feelings. The present paper offers a critique of the relationship between criminal behavior and subjective feelings of guilt. Specifically, two points are argued herein: (1) that many if not most people are not now sufficiently restrained from crime by moral considerations; and (2) that the reasons for this are primarily social-structural. (Publisher abstract)