[reidjs]

Agree that it's bad people steal, but disagree that petty theft will slowly cause the collapse of our modern lawful society.

[pc86]

It shifts the Overton window on what behavior is acceptable, and like the GP said it creates a feedback loop where stores close, prices increase, more people are forced to steal, etc etc. It's pretty widely accepted that lawlessness, even at the "petty" end of the spectrum, is a precursor to larger deterioration of society and whatever civilization/empire you're talking about specifically.

[denton-scratch]

> It's pretty widely accepted that lawlessness, even at the "petty" end of the spectrum, is a precursor to larger deterioration of society and whatever civilization/empire you're talking about specifically.

Rudi Giuliani would agree. I wouldn't.

[pc86]

I'm not talking about Rudy, this has been pretty widely discussed and debates for more than half a century.

[Paul-Craft]

Well, I agree with this, but only because I believe the petty theft is a sign of in-progress collapse, rather than a cause of future collapse.

I suspect you disagree with me on that. What sort of evidence would you accept that would convince you of my position?