The madness of the consumer society: shrugging off the rule of law

Yes it was very frightening indeed for us, the people who live close to the troubled areas, and our anxious relatives.. Four nights of constant police sirens and helicopters. Broken shop windows and despairing shop keepers who cannot afford to lose the business. One described the youths as "feral rats", which gets close to the heart of the matter. It seems the social order, the fabric of our society is entering meltdown.

Next morning, 50 students turned up with brooms volunteering to help clean up one area. In 24 hours, 18,000 people were offering their support and services. Articulate victims were talking with sanity, moderation and intelligence. Police proved wide awake and organised, tapped into the mobile phone circuit, able to head off trouble. Social order was quickly re established along with a chorus of affirmation of core moral values.

This is the two headed modern society, action and reaction fast and fluid, formless, seemingly disconnected from any kind of moral compass. The police are very clear that the core of the rioters are well known, existing gang members. These are largely sociopathic and violent, choosing to live in their own parallel society, getting by on small drug deals and theft, their ambitions tied to possession of the latest fashion in training shoes, mobile phones, video games, drug fixes and Miami style clubbing.

Let us be very clear: it is not about poverty or deprivation, or the economic situation. These are people with cash in their pockets. It is not about race, there were as many English white rioters as black. (But not Middle Eastern or Asian where family values are still strong and education is a goal). It is more about the breakdown of the family, failures in the educational system and alienation from society. These people just do not care. They live entirely for the next fix, whether from adrenalin or from cocaine. It is all just one big shrug.

It is drug induced at several levels: not only was the behaviour of the rioters reckless and unconcerned but the original spark of the riots arose from Operation Trident, a sophisticated police programme dealing with gun crime which is almost entirely drug linked.

It is certain that the initial riots were a gang response to the shooting of a man targeted by the police as part of Trident . Then there is some evidence that the escalation to burning down of buildings in key centres was orchestrated: Unconfirmed reports say youths hanging around doing not very much were then organised by older men arriving in cars. If true, this is likely to be the next level of drug syndicates sending a message of defiance. Note that only a day or so beforehand, the British police, as part of an international policing operation, announced they had confiscated the largest shipment of cocaine ever, as it arrived in the UK from South America on a luxury yacht. So this could also be the dealers" vengeful response to their loss of business.

Then all anyone had to do was stand back and watch as youthful testosterone and the craving for instant gratification provided by stolen iphones and fashion items took over.

You think this is fanciful? Statistics now indicate that more than half the world"s economic activity is in the hands of organised crime. You are perhaps thinking that Romania is worlds away from such stupidities?. The corruption and criminality that pervade, let us say infuse, East European politics and business are the conduits for gangs to spread the disease of drug induced behaviour, creating a society controlled by organised crime.

Be very clear: every time you make, or take, a bribe, take a short cut past a regulation, lie to the police, dishonour a financial obligation, steal a little something, evade your taxes, use a prostitute, smoke a little something, you are giving a shrug at society....You are helping to erode the established social order. The fact is that economic misdemeanour is economic crime is supporting gun crime is supporting drug crime is breaking down family is breaking down society. It has nothing to do with Twitter or Blackberry blah blah blah. It is about the social contract and the rule of law that holds it together. And it can so easily be broken down with just a shrug, God help us!