4 ms·

I think this is basically a cherry-picking and oversimplification of the situation. For one thing, income inequality in Brazil is significantly higher than in

I think this is basically a cherry-picking and oversimplification of the situation. For one thing, income inequality in Brazil is significantly higher than in Bangladesh. Also remember that I was speaking in the context of the wealthiest country on earth. We could perhaps assume that Brazil may not have the resources to end poverty and crime, but the USA definitely does.

rayiner 4mo ago
> Also remember that I was speaking in the context of the wealthiest country on earth. We could perhaps assume that Brazil may not have the resources to end poverty and crime, but the USA definitely does. That doesn't matter. If crime is caused by poverty, like you hypothesize, then poor countries like Bangladesh should have astronomical crime rates. But they don't.
- ceejayoz 4mo ago
  https://travel.state.gov/en/international-travel/travel-advisories/bangladesh.html https://travel.state.gov/en/international-travel/travel-advi... > Travel advisory - People's Republic of Bangladesh: Level 3 - Reconsider travel And a little spot of Level 4: > Do not travel to the Chittagong Hill Tracts due to unrest, crime, terrorism, and kidnapping. This area includes Khagrachari, Rangamati, and Bandarban Hill Tracts districts. Do not travel to this area for any reason.
  - rayiner 4mo ago
    The travel advisory is because people overthrew the government recently, which is a different problem than the ordinary crime we're talking about. And the Chittagong Hill Tracts are the Bangladeshi equivalent of Indian reservations. Neither supports the contention that poverty causes crime. The homicide rate across Bangladesh is just over 2.0 per 100k. That's only a bit higher than Canada, a vastly richer country.
    - ceejayoz 4mo ago
      > The travel advisory is because people overthrew the government recently, which is a different problem than the ordinary crime we're talking about. It feels like that's a tiny challenge to your thesis. > The homicide rate across Bangladesh is just over 2.0 per 100k. That's only a bit higher than Canada, a vastly richer country. One wonders if their homicide investigatory capabilities are comparable enough to compare such stats.
      - rayiner 4mo ago
        > It feels like that's a tiny challenge to your thesis. Your thesis is that poverty causes crime. I'm pointing out that many poor countries have low crime rates. The existence of political dysfunction isn't a rebuttal, it's an attempt to change the subject to something else. > One wonders if their homicide investigatory capabilities are comparable enough to compare such stats. Homicides are thoroughly investigated in almost every country that has a government.
        ceejayoz 4mo ago
        > I'm pointing out that many poor countries have low crime rates. "We're very safe, we just violently overthrow the shitty government a lot." (And I'd note you're conflating low crime rates and low reported crime rates.) > Homicides are thoroughly investigated in almost every country that has a government. People get away with homicides more when governments have less capacity to effectively investigate the questionable deaths. Not every homicide is a public shooting; some are "she fell down the stairs".
        rayiner 4mo ago
        > "We're very safe, we just violently overthrow the shitty government a lot." Basically. Religious and political conflicts that cause people to overthrow their government are unrelated to why people rob and kill their neighbors. > People get away with homicides more when governments have less capacity to effectively investigate the questionable deaths. Homicide rates are studied by the UN, which does a lot of work to produce numbers that can be compared across countries: https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/global-study-on-homicide.html https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/global-stud....

rayiner 4mo ago

> Also remember that I was speaking in the context of the wealthiest country on earth. We could perhaps assume that Brazil may not have the resources to end poverty and crime, but the USA definitely does. That doesn't matter. If crime is caused by poverty, like you hypothesize, then poor countries like Bangladesh should have astronomical crime rates. But they don't.

ceejayoz 4mo ago
https://travel.state.gov/en/international-travel/travel-advisories/bangladesh.html https://travel.state.gov/en/international-travel/travel-advi... > Travel advisory - People's Republic of Bangladesh: Level 3 - Reconsider travel And a little spot of Level 4: > Do not travel to the Chittagong Hill Tracts due to unrest, crime, terrorism, and kidnapping. This area includes Khagrachari, Rangamati, and Bandarban Hill Tracts districts. Do not travel to this area for any reason.
- rayiner 4mo ago
  The travel advisory is because people overthrew the government recently, which is a different problem than the ordinary crime we're talking about. And the Chittagong Hill Tracts are the Bangladeshi equivalent of Indian reservations. Neither supports the contention that poverty causes crime. The homicide rate across Bangladesh is just over 2.0 per 100k. That's only a bit higher than Canada, a vastly richer country.
  - ceejayoz 4mo ago
    > The travel advisory is because people overthrew the government recently, which is a different problem than the ordinary crime we're talking about. It feels like that's a tiny challenge to your thesis. > The homicide rate across Bangladesh is just over 2.0 per 100k. That's only a bit higher than Canada, a vastly richer country. One wonders if their homicide investigatory capabilities are comparable enough to compare such stats.
    - rayiner 4mo ago
      > It feels like that's a tiny challenge to your thesis. Your thesis is that poverty causes crime. I'm pointing out that many poor countries have low crime rates. The existence of political dysfunction isn't a rebuttal, it's an attempt to change the subject to something else. > One wonders if their homicide investigatory capabilities are comparable enough to compare such stats. Homicides are thoroughly investigated in almost every country that has a government.
      - ceejayoz 4mo ago
        > I'm pointing out that many poor countries have low crime rates. "We're very safe, we just violently overthrow the shitty government a lot." (And I'd note you're conflating low crime rates and low reported crime rates.) > Homicides are thoroughly investigated in almost every country that has a government. People get away with homicides more when governments have less capacity to effectively investigate the questionable deaths. Not every homicide is a public shooting; some are "she fell down the stairs".
        rayiner 4mo ago
        > "We're very safe, we just violently overthrow the shitty government a lot." Basically. Religious and political conflicts that cause people to overthrow their government are unrelated to why people rob and kill their neighbors. > People get away with homicides more when governments have less capacity to effectively investigate the questionable deaths. Homicide rates are studied by the UN, which does a lot of work to produce numbers that can be compared across countries: https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/global-study-on-homicide.html https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/global-stud....