In "The Spirit Level", Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett, two epidemiologists,
deal with the relationship between income inequality and various social
negatives in high income countries -- crime, health, abusive behaviour, teen
pregnancy etc. Japan's income distribution is one of the most equitable in the
world and its rates of various social negatives are among the lowest. It may
be that you won't feel like looting someone who you see as being a little
better off but not really very different from yourself. But it could also be
the effect of many generations of being told "Thou shalt not loot!!" -- i.e.
Keith Hudson's epigenes.
Ed
----- Original Message -----
From: Arthur Cordell
To: [email protected] ; 'RE-DESIGNING WORK, INCOME
DISTRIBUTION, EDUCATION'
Sent: Tuesday, March 15, 2011 7:30 AM
Subject: [Ottawadissenters] Why is there no looting in Japan?
Amid the stories coming out of Japan this one, the absence of looting and
social breakdown seems to be emerging.
==================
Why is there no looting in Japan?
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/edwest/100079703/why-is-there-no-looting-in-japan/
The landscape of parts of Japan looks like the aftermath of World War Two; no
industrialised country since then has suffered such a death toll. The one tiny,
tiny consolation is the extent to which it shows how humanity can rally round
in times of adversity, with heroic British rescue teams joining colleagues from
the US and elsewhere to fly out.
And solidarity seems especially strong in Japan itself. Perhaps even more
impressive than Japan's technological power is its social strength, with
supermarkets cutting prices and vending machine owners giving out free drinks
as people work together to survive. Most noticeably of all, there has been no
looting, and I'm not the only one curious about this1.
This is quite unusual among human cultures, and it's unlikely it would be the
case in Britain. During the 2007 floods in the West Country2 abandoned cars
were broken into and free packs of bottled water were stolen. There was looting
in Chile after the earthquake last year - so much so that troops were sent in;
in New Orleans, Hurricane Katrina saw looting on a shocking scale.
Why do some cultures react to disaster by reverting to everyone for himself,
but others - especially the Japanese - display altruism even in adversity?
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