In this day and age, most people can collectively agree that commiting crimes is bad. However, despite this, there is still a small group in society who commit crimes. In turn, people have suggested that poverty is what motivates these individuals. However, I believe this belief does not fully capture the scope of what incites people to break the law. In this essay, I shall discuss my opinion on whether or not poverty’s the sole motivator for criminals.
On one hand, it is undeniably true that those who are destitute disproportionately commit more crimes compared to those in a higher social class. A part of the reason why is that the poorer you are, the more desperate you will likely find yourself in. Especially if a person lacks any stable source of income or cannot meet basic social needs, they become much more susceptible to turning to crime. In addition, it’s worth noting that when a person falls into poverty, their morals can also begin to ‘degrade’ as they enter into a state of desperation if they remain financially unable for long enough.
However, believing that poverty alone is the reason why fails to take into account other confounding factors such as lack of education, upbringing or lingering trauma. People who lack a proper moral compass—either due to a belief that you have to do whatever it takes to survive cemented in their upbringing or simply because of a lack of awareness—will take no issue in pillaging others belongings or committing murder. A poor person with proper morals is much less likely to commit crimes than a relatively well-off person with no morals at all. Moreover, the term ‘crime’ is far too broad of a term to link its roots to poverty. For instance, both murder and tax fraud count as crimes and yet those in poverty are only likely to commit the former.
In conclusion, linking poverty to committing crimes is true to some extent. However, there are many confounding variables that complicate agreeing with it.