We are witnessing the revolt of the civilised against civilisation. Some Western intellectuals, who regard themselves as progressive, have fallen into the strange position of defending cultures that, for example, condone the killing of homosexuals and the virtual enslavement of women. At the same time, they denigrate the culture of the free societies of the… [Read More]
For over half a century violent crime has been rising in this country while the penalties for it have been falling. These two trends throw current sentencing practices into the spotlight of public policy concern. Charles Murray argues that criminal offenders deserve penalties of which the degree of severity matches the seriousness of their crimes.
An 18-month study of the British Government’s policies for crime reduction found that it has failed to learn even the simplest lessons from overseas experience. Crime and Civil Society found that the most basic measures necessary to encourage a law-abiding life on release are not being taken: particularly getting prisoners off drugs and providing basic… [Read More]
There are few issues which raise more concern than the increase in crime and anti-social behaviour. In spite of attempts by criminologists to dismiss these concerns as ‘moral panic’, and in spite of attempts by the government to massage the statistics, citizens feel increasingly threatened. Cultures and Crimes argues that this increase in crime is… [Read More]
“The greatest political decisions now confronting us concern the nation and its future. These decisions must be discussed with the utmost honesty if we are to do what is best for our country and for the world.” In this classic Civitas pamphlet from 2004, the philosopher Roger Scruton argues that the nation state is the… [Read More]
Since the relaxation of its national borders, migration into and between the countries of the European Union has become far more common and has begun to raise an urgent series of policy dilemmas. Is the labour market flexible enough to accommodate all those who want to come here to work? Should we be limiting the… [Read More]
In January 2003 the Home Office claimed that the chance of being a victim of crime ‘remains historically low’. However, the staggering rise in the volume of crime, within living memory, has been so great that it is difficult to convey the enormous shift in the law-abidingness and ‘policeability’ of the English.
This groundbreaking report, published in 2002, argues that current levels of immigration are unsustainable and detrimental to the interests of many people in Britain. Anthony Browne says immigration is ineffective as a global development policy and that it should be balanced, with equal numbers of people coming and going. That would be in the interests… [Read More]
For hundreds of years civil society was “the arena of freedom”, that network of free institutions made possible by the framework of law and order. As government grew, politicians took over many of the functions of those institutions. The state became the source of benefits, redistributing wealth and “crowding out” the institutions of civil society.