"A remarkable book that will attract a great deal of attention within and beyond the criminological community.
It is stunning in its sweep and significance. Because the book rejects a narrow disciplinary approach, it should
experience a wide reading across social science disciplines and in law, and it sets an agenda that few will be
able to ignore. This book is one of the most important contributions to criminology in years."
--John Hagan, University of Toronto
Submitted by Publisher, June, 2001
Summary
By articulating a general theory of crime and related behavior, the authors present a new and comprehensive
statement of what the criminological enterprise should be about. They argue that prevalent academic criminology
-- whether sociological, psychological, biological, or economic -- has been unable to provide believable explanations
of criminal behavior.
The long-discarded classical tradition in criminology was based on choice and free will, and saw crime as the natural
consequence of unrestrained human tendencies to seek pleasure and to avoid pain. It concerned itself with the nature
of crime and paid little attention to the criminal. The scientific, or disciplinary, tradition is based on causation
and determinism, and has dominated twentieth-century criminology. It concerns itself with the nature of the criminal
and pays little attention to the crime itself. Though the two traditions are considered incompatible, this book
brings classical and modern criminology together by requiring that their conceptions be consistent with each other
and with the results of research.
The authors explore the essential nature of crime, finding that scientific and popular conceptions of crime are
misleading, and they assess the truth of disciplinary claims about crime, concluding that such claims are contrary
to the nature of crime and, interestingly enough, to the data produced by the disciplines themselves. They then
put forward their own theory of crime, which asserts that the essential element of criminality is the absence of
self-control. Persons with high self-control consider the long-term consequences of their behavior; those with
low self-control do not. Such control is learned, usually early in life, and once learned, is highly resistant
to change.
In the remainder of the book, the authors apply their theory to the persistent problems of criminology. Why are
men, adolescents, and minorities more likely than their counterparts to commit criminal acts? What is the role
of the school in the causation of delinquency? To what extent could crime be reduced by providing meaningful work?
Why do some societies have much lower crime rates than others? Does white-collar crime require its own theory?
Is there such a thing as organized crime? In all cases, the theory forces fundamental reconsideration of the conventional
wisdom of academians and criminal justice practitioners. The authors conclude by exploring the implications of
the theory for the future study and control of crime.