The best way to rob a bank

Aleksandar Maršavelski, John Braithwaite*

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

    Abstract

    Cohen and Machalek's (1988) evolutionary ecological theory of crime explains why obscure forms of predation can be the most lucrative. Sutherland explained that it is better to rob a bank at the point of a pen than of a gun. The US Savings and Loans scandal of the 1980s suggested 'the best way to rob a bank is to own one'. Lure constituted by the anomie of warfare and transition to capitalism in former Yugoslavia revealed that the best way to rob a bank is to control the regulatory system: that is, to control a central bank. This makes possible theft of all the people's money in a society. The criminological imagination must attune to anomie created by capitalism, and to the evolutionary ecology of lure.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)123-138
    Number of pages16
    JournalInternational Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy
    Volume7
    Issue number1
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Mar 2018

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