[...] when it comes to thinking about any act of invention or
problem solving, we must get as close to the root purpose (manifest)
or the root cause (problem) as possible, respectively, to make the
most accurate assessment for action. Just as tools and techniques for
potential are only as viable as the understanding of their foundational
purpose, actions toward problem resolution are only as good as the
understanding of the root cause. This might seem obvious, but this
awareness is often missing in many areas of thought in the world
today, especially when it comes to society. Rather than pursuing such
a focus, most social decisions are based around traditional customs
that have inherent limits.
A simple example of this is the current method of human
incarceration for so called criminal behavior. For many, the solution
to offensive forms of human behavior is to simply remove the
individual from society and punish them. This is based on a series of
assumptions that stretch back millennia.(45)
Yet, the science behind human behavior has changed
tremendously with respect to understanding causality. It is now
common knowledge in the social sciences that most acts of crime
would likely not occur if certain basic, supportive environmental
conditions were set for the human being.(46) Putting people in prisons is
not actually resolving anything with respect to the causal problem. It is
more of a mere patch, if you will, which only temporarily stifles some
effects of the larger problem.(47)
Sources:
45. Reference: Violence: Our Deadly Epidemic and Its Causes, Dr. James
Gilligan, 1996
46. The Merva-Fowles study, done at the University of Utah in the 1990s, found
powerful connections between unemployment and crime. They based their
research on 30 major metropolitan areas with a total population of over 80
million. Their findings found that a 1% rise in unemployment resulted in: a
6.7% increase in Homicides; a 3.4% increase in violent crimes; a 2.4%
increase in property crime. During the period from 1990 to 1992, this
translated into: 1,459 additional Homicides; 62,607 additional violent
crimes; 223,500 additional property crimes. (Merva & Fowles, Effects of
Diminished Economic Opportunities on Social Stress, Economic Policy
Institute, 1992)
47. Reference: Ben McLeish lecture:
Out of the Box: Prisons