Stealing

Inevitably stealing is categorically a bad behaviour, due to the law which says so. Even though it is a bad behaviour, similarly to prostitution, lying and infidelity it is a behaviour that consistently occurs daily. I would comfortably say that we all know someone who has stole something or know of a situation where something was stolen. Due to the fact that stealing will always occur it could be said that some types of theft are worse than others.

After discussing the issue of stealing it became apparent that many people feel stealing from large companies is acceptable in comparison to small companies and family households. This was due to the belief that larger companies would not feel the effect in comparison to families and smaller organisations. However isn't stealing still stealing and no matter what the size of the organisation or person being stolen from does it not all have an effect on someone.

Personally I uphold the view that all stealing is bad, if you cannot afford it you go without. However, not everyone who steals does so because they cannot afford a product. In some cases of stealing it has been found a person has not stole due to deprivation or scarcity, but instead for the excitement from the theft. Similarly to how drugs can thrill an addict, it is believed stealing is a thrill-inducing behaviour. When investigating why people steal I came across the link http://neuroanthropology.net/2010/04/26/stealing-pears-we-all-want-to-but-why/ from the document it presents neurobiology into stealing. It describes that belief that stealing is pleasurable due to the brains reward system, the excitement of stealing can release neurotransmitters such as dopamine and norepinephrine, which could be said to put the given thief on a high.

Generally if stealing was not bad it would not be a criminal offence. Previously it has been said that large organisations do not feel the affect of stealing, however if everyone was to feel that way and more people stole from shops, levels of profit margins would decrease. This could mean that prices of goods for consumers may rise and for colleagues bonuses may be little or nonexistent, therefore stealing even from large companies has side effects. To conclude, those who steal should go to jail.