Social Deprivation and Breakdown of the Nuclear Family
The London Riots
The riots that erupted in London in 2011 caused a paramount concern for the state of British society. Many observers pointed it directly to the global crisis. What initially began as a peaceful protest had escalated into riots and bouts of hooliganism and quickly spread in to other parts of the country (Becky, 2012). Within a period of 5 days, the violence had spread form the epicentre in Tottenham to Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham (Daniel, 2012). As is the case with many societal problems, politicians are always quick to give analyses of the situation blaming the rival party and engaging in political finger pointing and point scoring. The politicians also labelled the rioters as “gangs”, “mindless thugs” and “feral youth”. The conservatives who are the senior partners in the current coalition government used the riots to lend credence to their narrative of a “Broken Britain (Becky, 2012; Daniel, 2012). This is an argument on the lack of morals in contemporary British society. While this may be true, this argument ignores the fact that other parts of Britain did not experience any violence
The question of the class did not appear until much later. References were however made to an underclass (Strangleman, 2011). This allowed critics to blame the riots on a band of cultural stereotypes (Stephanie, 2012). It allowed for the sidestepping of the issue of class, inequality and deprivation, which had been on the rise in the last decade and especially with the introduction of austerity measures by the government. The rioters were described as unethical and work shy with a mindless opportunism and lacking any ethic of responsibility (Becky, 2012). As other voices apart from politicians joined in the debate on the actual cause of the riots, the argument that poverty equals riots became invalid. This is because it was easy to prove that not all the rioters were poor. It is also appealing to note that some observers draw parallels between the looters and the compensation paid out to bankers together with recent claims of fraud committed by members of parliament (Stephanie, 2012). This clearly shifts the blame from any association with the class to a more deeply rooted social decay that cuts across all classes.
Gradually, commentators who ranged from academic to journalist began to look keenly at the social inequality in Britain. This was a more sober and self-confident approach to understanding the underlying causes of the riots. High profile academics such as the social geographer Danny Dorling, newspaper columnists and book authors all commented on the issue. They all put the spotlight on contemporary social problems in Britain. They brought to the fore the widening gap between the rich and the poor and community breakdown. All three claim that the origin of the problems is in the industrialization of 1970s and 1980s and the resultant joblessness in Britain. (Strangleman, 2011)
The industrial revolution has been blamed directly for causing some of the current social disorder. One of the biggest effects of Industrial revolution was disruption of family life. This occurred during the transition from an agricultural to an industrial economy. Pervasive practices such as child labour separate children from their families where the lacked control and discipline. These children grew into a generation of perverted criminals who had no sense of self-control. As a result, drug abuse such as alcoholism, crime and violence rates rose. With time, the government together with religious organizations found solutions to these problems by starting social support programs. While these may have worked, the effects of industrialization were not fully tackled. As society progressed and Britain’s economy grew, there remained a section of society that deprived and disadvantaged.
A societal perspective in to the causes analyses the cracks beneath the veneer of Britain’s liberal and generally well to do society. Societies the world over are shaped by historical philosophical and moral traditions which shape and determine the direction of social change. Enlightenment, the 18th century phenomena with its structuralist form shaped the social lives of Europe and North America. Structuralist- Functionalists agree that social values are necessary to achieve social order and stability. This implies a general consensus among the majority of the members of society on a set of social basic values. In Europe and America, this consensus developed around Utilitarian value of ‘the greatest good of the greatest number’. The ‘greatest good’ has been described by Positivist-Structuralists as economic good, jobs, incomes, education, benefits, pensions and any other benefits of modern welfare.
Structuralism is concerned more with social structures than with individuals within the structures. Those who do not fall within the dominant majority seeking the ‘greater good’ are ignored. These individuals find themselves on the wrong side of society and are at times forced to resort to violent ways to express their frustration. A consensus on values occurs when individuals feel that they benefit as members of a particular society. It also comes when these individuals are trained to desire only what the society can provide. The process of creating values is not perfect. Economic crises like the global economic crisis and inequalities weaken the socialization process. Individuals within the group, often identifying themselves as the minority and oppressed become alienated. Social aspects such as racial profiling and economic segregation further alienate these minority groups into immigrants, working class and blacks. The majority on the other hand are identified as white, British, Urban and middle-class.
The scenario of ‘the greatest happiness of the greatest number’ forces the marginalized to come up with spectacular ways to express their dissatisfaction with the status quo. The resultant shock generates debate on the causes of the reaction, which more often than not exposes the insensitivity of the majority to the plight of the minority. The pent up frustrations of the marginalized are often highlighted forcing the general society pay more attention to the concerns raised by the minority.
With this scenario in mind, it can be argued that the riots in Britain were caused by a weak and oppressed minority rising up against the strong and the wealthy (BBC News Magazine, 2012). This is an easy assumption to take on face value because it fits remarkably well with sociological models. However careful examination of the facts on the ground show otherwise. In fact, the British press in their coverage of the violence refused to make political excuses for the violence. Instead, they unilaterally agreed that it was greed that caused the riots. This is because the rioters were not breaking into basic needs stores to loot food and supplies. Instead, they chose designer shops, sportswear and mobile phone outlets ignoring bookstores, which were in the same location with looted shops. This pointed to greed, selfishness and a worrying lust for violence among the youth. The press argued that this is criminality in all its forms and had nothing to do with politics. A BBC news analysis of the situation had criminology professors giving competing arguments for the cause of the riots.
The experts identified a number of intriguing factors that may have led to the riots. These factors range from welfare dependency to the influence of social media on the behaviour of young people. In an article for the Daily Mail, Sir Max Hastings blamed social welfare for elevating personal freedom to an absolute and denying the underclass a portion of ‘tough love’, which would help them get out of dependency (BBC News Magazine, 2012). David Wilson a criminology professor at Birmingham City University termed this phenomenon as a culture of entitlement, which has become so rampant in the UK. Britain’s population has been conditioned by politicians and intellectuals to believe that it is entitled to a high standard of life irrespective of personal efforts towards the same (BBC News Magazine, 2012). Deprived society therefore regards anything less to what the rest of society enjoys as a sign of injustice. Interestingly, he also pointed out that this culture was not only prevalent among the underclass but also evident with politicians, footballers and bankers. The young people in all classes therefore lack leadership with the moral authority to guide them.
Social exclusion was also identified as a factor that caused the riots. The majority well established society has become so engrossed in itself that it has forgotten about the deprived and the underprivileged. The exclusion is therefore not an occasional attack on human dignity but a continuous deprivation and humiliation of the dispossessed by the rich (BBC News Magazine, 2012). This argument does not hold much water because as indicated earlier, the riots were not conducted exclusively by the poor. There was a healthy mix of young people from different economic backgrounds who took part in the violence and subsequent looting. Additionally, everybody regardless of his or her background or economic circumstances has the freedom to choose between what is right and wrong at all times.
The austerity measures used by government to cut back on its budget were also identified as another probable cause. The full implication of the cuts on local authority services and especially on policing may have led the young people to believe that they will not be caught (BBC News Magazine, 2012). This leads to the other argument, which is that weak policing, may have contributed to the escalation of the riots especially into other cities. There was massive action against police following G20 protests in London back in 2009. Observers claim that the police may have been squeamish tackling the rioters directly for fear of legal action. Several interviewed rioters clearly enjoyed the feeling of ‘power’ the timid police gave them.
Racism was also identified as another possible cause of the violence. The riots started after a 29-year-old black man was fatally shot in Tottenham (BBC News Magazine, 2012). These sentiments were based on claims that too many black people were subjected to police harassment for no good reason. The police are said to use the stop and search powers provided in section 60 disproportionately. These remarks however, ignore the fact that police shootings are very rare in Britain. In the last three years prior to the riots, IPPC reports indicate that only 7 shooting incidences had been reported and all were of white people.
Others yet described the violence as shopping riots caused influenced by consumer choices. According to Zoe Williams of the Guardian, this was the reaction of the masses to a society that constantly rubbed stuff they could never afford on their noses. When the opportunity presented itself in the form of a lapse in security, these people seized it and stole these items. This argument does not completely cover looting in its entirety. This is because looters take what they can be they expensive and exclusive or cheap and petty like sweets and beer. Opportunism was also mentioned.
This is considering that the violence spread to other towns where there was no evident cause for violence. Others were tempted to join in the riots because they thought that in the sea of rioters, it would be hard for police to arrest them. The feeling of invulnerability that comes with being part of a big gang is what may have motivated many more to join the violence. Technology and social media was also used to rally young people to join the violence. Photographs of their peers proudly displaying their looted merchandise were posted on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. The rioters could use short text messaging to assemble riot gangs. Ironically, the police later used these sites and facial recognition technology to identify arrest and prosecute participants of the riots.
Another key issue raising concern for the future of British society is the breakdown of the nuclear family. In the 1960, a moral revolution took place. The entire traditional ethic of morality and self-restraint was replaced by whatever the individual saw fit. As a result, in the UK 40% of all children are born out of wedlock. Currently, the British society is characterized by communities without fathers or any meaningful male role models. This has led to new forms of child poverty in Britain which no amount of government spending and intervention can correct. A UNICEF report presented in 2007 found British children to be the ‘unhappiest in the word’. Statistics show that 91% of all single parent families are led by women. By the time, the boys are in their early teens they are physically stronger than their mothers making it difficult for them to confront and discipline the boys at this critical age. With no fathers and no clear authority, these children are socialized into criminal gangs where they meet peers who share their experiences. In these gangs their parents, teachers and even the police cannot control them.
These riots exposed the dynamics of contemporary British society to the world. In April, the country together with the rest of the world was fascinated by the royal wedding of Prince William. Less than four months later, the world’s watched in horror as the youth terrorized the cities in criminally motivated looting and sporadic violence. Everybody from politicians to journalist attempted to give an explanation and description of what may have caused the riots to escalate to the magnitude it did. Politicians predictably used the opportunity to earn political mileage by pointing fingers at the rival camp. Sociologists and psychologist attempted to describe the behaviour of the youth based on a number of social factors evident within British society (Daniel, 2012).
A close examination of these issues reveals an ongoing problem, which has been getting worse without much being done to correct it (Sakeenah, 2011). Within the thriving British society, there exists a substantial population of deprived citizens who depend on the government for sustenance. Years of dependence and the absence of a program to help them, gain self-sustenance has reduced these citizens to overly dependent slobs with misguided sense of entitlement. This should be corrected by introducing and implementing programs through which those on social support can earn their upkeep and support and hopefully graduate from the system.
Britain has been identified as the country with the worst family crisis in Europe. This trend needs to be reversed urgently because as it is, there is a generation of young Britons who have grown up with no moral guidance or decent role models. It is this generation that is easily influenced into participating in illegal activities such as riots and gang related crimes. To correct these certain structures that instil a sense of moral responsibility on parents need to be put in place (Sakeenah, 2011). Young women and girls should be trained to value a domestic union as the ideal environment to bring up a child. Religious institutions can also step in to provide a moral compass to guide the conduct of these young people to what is good or bad.
Reference List
BBC News Magazine, 2012. Competing arguments used to explain the riots, [online].
Available at: < http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-14483149> [Accessed 29
April 2012}
Becky C., 2012. Deconstructing the rioters: a case study of individuals convicted
and
sentenced in Greater Manchester. Safer Communities, 11 (1), pp.33-39
Daniel B., 2012. What we did when it happened: a timeline analysis of the social
disorder in London. Safer Communities, 11 (1), pp.6 – 16
Sakeenah, M, 2011. UK Riots: A Sociological Perspective; The Cracks Beneath The
Veneer. [online] Available at: http://maryamsakeenah.blogspot.com/2011/08/uk-
riots-sociological-perspective.html [Accessed 29 April 2012]
Stephanie A. B. 2012. "From the criminal crowd to the “mediated crowd”: the impact of
social media on the 2011 English riots. Safer Communities, 11 (1), pp.40 – 49
Strangleman T, 2011. Working-Class Perspectives: Class and the English Riots.
[Online]. Available at: http://workingclassstudies.wordpress.com/tag/london-riots/
