Is poverty really at the heart of the London Riots?

A society can only work if every member of the said society feels that they have something to gain from being a valuable and law-abiding member of that society. The counterpoint to having something to gain is of course when people have nothing to lose. When we reach a stage where people feel they have nothing to lose, their lives and prospects so bleak that they would rather spit in the face of the society that they are supposedly a part of – we end up in a scenario like we have in London right now.

The question I am interested in understanding is how people reach a stage in a country like Britain where they feel that they have nothing to lose. The point I am trying to raise here is that the rioting has been blamed on the poverty, deprivation and injustices that these youths feel. However I am at a loss to understand this point – Britain is country with an extremely generaous social security system which cares for anyone who is unable (or not wanting) to work. There are also ample opportunities for people to skill themselves as the education system is free and despite its various flaws is able to provide a decent education to anyone that is motivated enough.

Now compare this to the truly extereme poverty that you see in many countries across the world (more than half the worlds population live in genuine poverty) and you certainly would not see these people rioting – even though some of the citizens of these countries probably should be demonstrating more due to the extreme corruption that keeps them poor in their countries. No doubt the poor in these countries would consider the so called poor that are rioting very privileged given all the opportunities that they have had. And also probably foolish given how little they have made of those opportunities.

The point here is these riots have nothing to do with poverty. The real problem is the culture of instant gratification that permeates through our society now. It is no longer deemed necessary to work for anything, these youths feel that they are owed everything as their “human right”. What does it matter if they are not able to find gainful employment ? They can just break into shops and loot what they like in any case – after all they feel that they are justified in taking whatever they feel they deserve.

I saw the following quote in an article in the Guardian:

That Cameron doesn't know what he's talking about. He's lucky he can get a holiday. These kids don't get a holiday.

The above pretty much sums it up really. David Cameron may be wrong on a lot of things but at the end of the day he is the prime minister of the country and he works pretty hard – so he does deserve a holiday. These kids would also be able to get a holiday if they worked hard and made an honest living. It is this culture of entitlement that seems to be poisoning the very fabric of the society that we live in. The feeling now is that the socity owes them something for doing nothing and if it is not given it should just be taken. There is no understanding that in order to receive you need to initially put something into your community and society.

So lets stop blaming social exclusion and poverty for the London Riots. There are plenty of poor people in the world who behave with far greater dignity in much more trying circumstances than these youths that have brought havoc to London.