Juvenile Crime and Socio-economic Factors Term Paper

Juvenile Crime and Socio-economic Factors - Term Paper Example No one is a born criminal and it is evident that the surrounding socio economic environment acts as an important ingredient and a positive catalyst in turning a young boy or girl into a vicious criminal who might be breaking some one’s house or threatening some one at his/her gun point. In the following paragraphs a detailed investigative analysis has been led to explore the different avenues through which these socio economic factors make their inroad into young blossoms to turn them into dried hays waiting to be ignited with faintest of sparks and provocation. Before moving into details it is worth mentioning that the following analysis would be based on a set of socio economic indicators that comprises of; family, socio-economic class and factors that also includes community factors, educational background, urbanization, media, exclusion and influence of the peers. Family: Juvenile period is the formative period of human life and family plays the most critical role in this juncture. A family with healthy atmosphere cultivate the socially acceptable norms within the siblings that help them to grow into responsible, matured social being in the long run. In sharp contrast a family that is subject to unhealthy environment and does not provide enough psychological nourishment towards the siblings might be considered as the breeding ground for juvenile criminals who in no time would become a social menace. Metaphorically a tree determines the kind of fruit it is going to produce in future. A strong statistical evidence might be produced here a â€Å"study of 250 boys found that among boys at age 10, the strongest predictors of later convictions for violent offenses (up to age 45) were poor parental supervision, parental conflict, and parental aggression, including harsh, punitive discipline.† (Shader, 6) Again if the seniors of a family are already engaged into anti social activities, then the child manages to witness such activities on a regular bas is and that work as a kindergarten, ironically for criminal lessons. Going by social process theory, individuals react to such conflict situations with hostility and anti social activities (Zarka). It is worth mentioning a study in this respect that was â€Å"carried out in prisons in the United States reveals that families involved in criminal activities tend to push their younger members towards violating the law. More than two-third of those interviewed had relatives who were incarcerated; for 25 per cent it was a father and for another 25 per cent a brother or sister.† (chapter 7: Juvenile Delinquency, 196) Evidence has also been found that a family where peace and love are distant issues between couples and that displays continuous marital disorder results in creating an environment that eventually promotes juvenile delinquency. This is also true for families with evidence of divorce, though at the end it depends much on family unity than on single or double parenthood. Socio-economic class and factors including community: It seems that children from economically weak background tend to be more into juvenile crime. This socio-economic class based idea held strong in 1950s and 1960s. However statistical analysis since 1960s revealed that youths belonging to the economically middleclass are also almost equally into juvenile delinquency. This is in accordance to the social structure theory of crime, which explains

History of modern political thought Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

History of modern political thought - Essay Example Those who rely simply on the lion do not understand what they are about.† (Machiavelli, 1515) The lion is the proverbial â€Å"king of the beasts† who rules the jungle. Yet, it is not enough for Machiavelli’s ideal Prince to be simply the most strong of all the animals, and most respected in the jungle. In this regard the animal nature must also embrace the wiliness of the fox in its ability to escape tracks, because as Machiavelli wrote â€Å"the wolves† will be waiting for the Prince to attack and strip him of life and power. Ultimately, Machiavelli wrote: â€Å"If men were entirely good this precept would not hold, but because they are bad, and will not keep faith with you, you too are not bound to observe it with them.† (Machiavelli, 1515) In ‘Chapter XIX† Machiavelli extends the analogy of the lion and fox by referencing historical Roman examples of â€Å"the opposite characters of Commodus, Severus, Antoninus Caracalla, and Maximin us,† who he describes as being leaders who â€Å"did not hesitate to commit every kind of iniquity against the people†. (Machiavelli, 1515) Machiavelli discusses how the â€Å"fox nature† relates to the ability to make treaties but also abandon them when they no longer serve the interests of the Prince for power. Machiavelli then discusses how it is important for the Prince to appear publicly to have good, humanitarian, and valorous qualities in the public eye, but be ruthless behind the public veil in consolidate power through eliminating enemies. â€Å"Therefore it is unnecessary for a prince to have all the good qualities I have enumerated, but it is very necessary to appear to have them.† (Machiavelli, 1515) Question 2: In view of Hobbe's bleak and pessimistic view of human nature, how is the transition from the state of nature to civil society possible? in other words, are the conclusion of Hobbe's theory of absolute government logically sound but pol itically inapplicable? Hobbe’s view of the corrupted nature of human society did not technically for him prohibit the centralization of power in the State. In some ways, Hobbe’s own arguments are similar to the doctrine of ‘Pluralism’ advocated in America by James Madison and others. Despite there being multiple centers or organizations of power, wealth, authority, control, force, tradition, status, prestige, etc. in a society, these could all be centralized in the State through its apparatus, institutions, and operations. As Stuart Hopkins writes inâ€Å"Hobbes and Absolute Sovereignty† (2011), Hobbes â€Å"...was primarily concerned with the problems of union and unity within the commonwealth, with the construction of such a unity, and the possibility of common action that is a product of that unity. The absence of unanimity in decision making, and unresolvable conflicts of interest, frustrate and militate against a natural unity and, therefore, in the event of open conflict, jeopardise the lives and the welfare of the subjects... A civil society, or commonwealth, must have a clearly defined and