The inhibitors

To harness or ameliorate base human nature we need to understand ourselves.  What truly stops us as a man or a woman from indulging our base impulses?  “Truly” because part of our self-deception in not wanting to acknowledge our base natures is to misrepresent what truly constrains us. 

What constrains you?  If you are a man what truly stops you from kidnapping a lovely young woman for your sexual gratification?  If you are a woman what truly stops you from killing your step-children? 

Is it the law of the land^[1] and its associated penalties that stops you? 

For the majority of citizens during times of peace, prosperity, and general civil order, the law of the land is a powerful inhibitor.  If you are part of the mainstream you do not want to marginalise yourself from the mainstream by breaking its laws or going against its conventions.

But for habitual criminals and others on the margins of society the law of the land is not a significant inhibitor.   You will believe yourself smart enough to carry out the crime without being caught.  If by some misfortune you were caught and charged, you would know that the chances of being found guilty would be small - the rules of evidence in many modern occidental jurisdictions^[2] are so stringent that only a watertight case would see you put away.  In a jury trial a good lawyer would swing things your way, and you would be well-groomed and contrite. 

Were you to be convicted the worst thing that could happen to you for a serious crime in many occidental countries would be a prison sentence of eight years or so, with a very high probability that you would be out on good behaviour in less than four years.  While in prison you would be able to study, acquire a trade - and you would be able to do regular body toning.  The significant downsides would be separation from loved ones, no intimacy with the opposite sex, and being subjected to the brutality that maintains the social hierarchy within the prison. 

During good and stable times the law of the land is a significant inhibitor for the majority.  But it is a fragile and superficial inhibitor.

During civil emergencies and at other times when the institutions of a State falter, such as during Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans or in the aftermath of the overthrow of the Ba'athist regime in Iraq, we invariably see a proportion of formerly law abiding citizens showing their true colours by joining habitual criminal elements and indulging in opportunistic crimes not just against property but against fellow citizens.  Old scores are settled, but random crimes against strangers also occur.  Instances of rape rise significantly.

But even when the opportunity to gratify themselves with impunity at the expense of others arises, many will still not take it.  Why not? 

Is it the fear of hell and damnation?  If you are not a believer, not at all.  For others who do believe it would definitely be a factor.  Combine the certainty of detection by an omnipresent all-knowing deity^[3] with the certainty of a final judgment leading to the imposition of an infinitely severe punishment without any chance of parole, and you have the ingredients of a truly fearsome judicial system. 

Is it an internal morality that countervails the dark side?  Is it empathy with the victim?  Hopefully yes, but unfortunately this is only a weak force for many. 

Is it the realisation that society would not survive were we all to yield to our base instincts?  Probably not, and if it is, again in a very minor way only.  Society as a whole is too large and remote^[4] an entity for many of us to care about deeply.  If we were to stop and think about it we would recognise that in protecting society from our excesses and those of others we would also be protecting ourselves and our loved ones.  But such a thought process is unlikely to feature prominently in the mind of a Mr Hyde^[5] stalking his next victim.  

The force that constrains us above all others is family and peer pressure.  It is what we think our family and peer group would think of us if they were to find out, and the very real threat of the withdrawal of their affection and respect from us, assuming that the immoral act that may be tempting us is considered immoral by them^[6].  For men the principal inhibitors and ameliorators are the women in their lives^[7] – their daughters, wives, and mothers. 

In the criminal sub-cultures^[8] that every society has, among whom doing time is considered to be a mark of honour, family and peer groups praise and reward a wide range of antisocial behaviours.  Accordingly the behaviours are repeated again and again and again, despite all the punishment and rehabilitation efforts by the mainstream culture.  Even these criminal sub-cultures have their limits or “honour among thieves”.  Many for example will not tolerate child molestation^[9].  But if the peer group of the perpetrator is a group of paedophiles^[10], then he will be substantially unconstrained on child molestation.  Potentially the most dangerous person of all is the individual who has no family or peer group at all – the delusional loner who is fully unconstrained. 

The key to reducing and countering anti-social behaviour is inclusion^[11] - the inclusion of individuals in groups, and the inclusion of sub-groups in the mainstream.

Inclusion is a multi-lateral compromise.  A sub-group being swallowed by the mainstream is not inclusion.  The mainstream is often astray and needs to be led from the margins. 

Whether you are on the margins or within the mainstream, share your morals and values, and share your resources, but not for nothing^[12], and not at the expense of healthy diversity^[13].  Do not complicitly deny others the hope of realising their dreams^[14] and potentials.  Marginalise or ostracise an individual or a group, and you create an enemy.

Let natural social processes^[15] run their course and increasing numbers of people will be marginalised while privilege becomes entrenched.  You must intervene proactively^[16] in those social processes.

Love^[17] your neighbours before they become your enemies. 

Only in the most exceptional circumstances is exclusion the answer.  And then the enemy must be pulled out by the roots^[18].