The higher crime rate that comes with income inequality results in more physical and psychological stress among society
Research by Ichiro Kawachi and others shows another feature of income inequality that translates into more physical and psychological stress: the more economically unequal a society, the more crime—assault, robbery, and, particularly, homicide—and the more gun ownership. Critically, income inequality is consistently a better predictor of crime than poverty per se. This has been demonstrated on the level of states, provinces, cities, neighborhoods, even individual city blocks. And just as we saw in chapter 13 when we looked at the prevalence of displacement aggression, poverty amid plenty predicts more crime—but not against the wealthy. The have-nots turn upon the have-nots.
References
- Sapolsky, Robert. (2004). Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers Chapter 17. The View from the Bottom (p. 532). New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company.
Metadata
Type:🔴 Tags: Psychology / Social Psychology / Politics / Economics Status:⛅️