Ill-gotten gains cheapen the thief's life and ultimately society as a whole
Ill-gotten gains not only cheapen a thief’s life but ultimately society as a whole, writes Mark BarnesIf crime is allowed to pay it will inevitably destroy society. Thugs will rule. Evasion of the law will become common law. Infrastructure will be left to rot. The value of life will diminish. In a functional society, the systems of governance are set out to ensure that crime doesn't pay, for the consequences of the alternative are inevitable and horrible. Nobody wins, not even the bad guys.
Where crime doesn't get punished, even when it's found out, it becomes increasingly difficult for law-abiding citizens to sit in the gutters and accept that it's OK for the crooks to prosper while they suffer. Eventually everyone joins in - it is the only way out of the misery … into another...A subscription gives you full digital access to all Sunday Times content.Registered on the BusinessLIVE, Business Day, Financial Mail or Rand Daily Mail websites? Sign in with the same details.
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