MANAGEMENT OF JUSTICE : NEUROSCIENTIFIC BASIS OF CRIME

The opposite of poverty is not wealth ,it is justice-Bryan stevenson

Conflict is inevitable- Combat is optional-Unknown

There is sufficiency in the world for man’s need but not for his greed-Mahatma Gandhi

Neuroscience of social behaviour

In primate societies there is a dominant male who has the lions share of food and sex. The rest of males and females have a subservient position. Groups of primates usually attack other groups for territorial and resource dominance.

   During evolution of human societies the group dynamics ( game theory of power games)maintained by asymmetric power leading to a hierarchical society changed to an egalitarian group. Initially the instinct of altruism arose leading to sharing of food in the group. This allowed hunting as a group endeavour. Later it led to reciprocal exchange of favours . The second instinct  was related to parental attachment to the child along with strong sexual attachment/ love for a unitary family. Both were essential for bringing up children who were immature at birth and required a long period of learning . Though groups now lacked an authoritarian leader human groups were flexible with both liberal and authoritarian  modes. This allowed groups to adapt to external crisis of food shortage or attacks by other groups. Simultaneously the out group basis also changed in humans. Humans group formation was not based on kinship only but based on race,territory,castes etc and this allowed formation of larger groups. Larger groups were better able to face external attacks.

Groups always had individual differences and there were abnormal personalities leading to individuals with Antisocial  personality or narcissistic personality. They were usually kept in check by group rules and norms but frequently violence resulted.

Private property and dominance

Human groups also had cognitive evolution. These progressed from concrete reasoning  to conceptual reasoning. This allowed construction and use of tools and craftsmanship. This led to rise of private property and possibility of wealth and power accumulation.It also created the possibility of theft and briga dry.Simultaneously religious ideology arose and allowed construction of large societies based on common faith and breakdown of tribal groups. 

   The maintenance of law and order in a large society requires third party policing. In tribes there is no authority by consensus for third party policing as such division of labour is not sustainable economically.In a conflict between individuals there is anger if there is feeling of injustice. If the culprit has no feeling of guilt usually aggression occurs. Third party mediation occurs in humans but not in animals. However the mediation is not as rigorous and depends on resources available for punishment. Incidence of violent crime is much less in modern societies than tribal societies due to presence of third party mediation.

Cognition,scripts and learned crime

Human cognition develops in a child. Initially the child learns  through punishment to know good or bad behaviour.Later with development of concrete reasoning it understands belief of others as possible and different from ones own. This leads to possibility of alliances of like minded children as wells as conflict through jealousy and spite. With development of conceptual thought the child understands the need of laws to regulate behaviour by third parties. 

   Apart from reasoning and moral development the child accumulates knowledge in memory in episodic and declarative forms. This knowledge builds up by either concrete or conceptual reasoning.The initial knowledge the child builds up is contextual and called scripts.. It allows the child to react to particular contexts automatically  

The child which grows up in a poor neighbourhood or dysfunctional schools is exposed to group norms which are deviant. These are inculcated by imitation especially if the child is himself having borderline personality disorder.As the child grows into an adult further exposure to gangs leads to learning the professional skills of a robber or murderer. 

Modern organizations and deviance

  Business organizations allow individuals to compete for power both within departments,between departments, between firm and corporate board,between workers and management. In an ethical corporate culture all stakeholders are treated with justice. However many corporates have a criminalizing culture. Here new entrants learn a deviant corporate culture in cheating workers, consumers ,violating climate protection,office politics and coalition formation,exorbitant executive remunerations and sometimes outright fraud in accounting and theft. The culture develops sometimes due to intense completion within or between firms for resources ,markets etc. This is followed by justification of wrongdoing by requirement to face competition ,failure of assets and so on. Corporate frauds also occur when internal checks and balances are lax leading to opportunities for embezzlement due to greed.A rapidly changing external environment with uncertainty and lack of internal expertise in handling it can lead to accidental collapse of a firm.This is more likely to occur if the leadership is authoritarian and unwilling to listen to advice

   The overall political culture is dependant on the presence of a dominant corporate landscape. In industrial societies citizens vote based on basis of political ideologies. Capitalism frequently leads to wealth inequality independent of individual hard work and due to host of factors as disabilities,inadequate education  opportunities,. However conservative political ideology ignores this reality and justifies societal inequalities. Conversely liberal ideology justifies all sort of state interventions for disadvantaged groups some of which breeds lethargy. A balance between the two depending on prevailing economic cycle is in agreement with a game theory basis. In addition powerfull corporate elites promote economic theories justifying inequality and supported by pliable media and academia in industrial nations. During economic downturn prejudice against minority out groups rise and blaming them for all misfortunes occur.It is also observed that authoritarian personalities fear change and favour conservative ideologies. The opposite is seen in liberal support by people with empathy

     The family is another organization where learned scripts can lead to harmony or disruption. A male with a learned script of female subservience can lead to conflict. 

Ack:Modelling norms;The truth about denial;The criminal elite;The political agenda of organizations; Human aggression : theory,research;An introduction to criminal psychology;Human evolution and the origin of hierarchies ;Darwinian politics;Power and politics in organizations;Organizational pathology;seven deadly sins of organizational culture;Handbook of management styles;The productive narcissist