Idle hands do the devil's work?

On this the social scientific literature is now pretty clear: sadly, if those hands belong to young men, yes. Take unemployed youth; add a recession, which further reduces job prospects; add a programme of government austerity whose weight falls disproportionately on new entrants to the job market - which is to say, young people; then mix in a worsening pattern of income distribution; and you have all the ingredients for a combustible brew.

These are objective predictors of increased violence and antisocial behaviour. We have seen a wave of instability roll across the developed world, from Athens to Vancouver. The causes and content may differ. Greek riots are politically charged, Vancouver's seemed mindless. But a common element is disaffected young people, with little investment in a regime which has suddenly turned them out into the cold.

When tension is chronic, all it takes is a spark. It was duly provided by the police's killing in north London of a black man in suspicious circumstances. But if the immediate rioting in Tottenham has an element of protest, the name Mark Duggan was very soon forgotten. Within hours, the riots had turned into a large, organised looting expedition.

The following morning, I wandered through Brixton, a south London community which remains the spiritual home of Britain's Jamaican community. Host to vicious riots in the past, Brixton has of late been a prospering community, increasingly sought after by young professionals and artists. But by unfortunate coincidence, the streets were closed that day for a street festival. The police at the barriers looked tense, distant. I knew opportunists would crawl in at nightfall.

Wave OF rage

And so they did. The next morning, I went back through the debris-strewn streets, now fenced off with crime-scene tape. A lady from a local bakery handed out free cupcakes, declaring her love of Brixton. The shops that had been trashed were the predictable assortment of high-street retailers, jewellers and electronic stores: not symbols of the Establishment, but purveyors of bling.

The rioting continued. As police reinforcements flooded into London and vigilantes took to the streets, the arrest toll mounted quickly. The picture of the typical looter gradually took shape. While there were all types, by and large the culprits were young, petty thugs, opportunists looking for spoils and a fun time. Some hated the police, and felt justified in their illegality by the mistreatment they had suffered. Most, apparently, couldn't care less; they had merely received the notice on BlackBerry Messenger and raced into town to join the action.

Much as the picture of the average looter took shape, so too did the debate as to what caused the eruption. Prime Minister David Cameron, true to his Conservative roots, said it was criminality, pure and simple. Yet, while very few commentators were willing to ascribe a political character to the riots, few could escape the political context.

As rich as ever

That same weekend, the Financial Times reported that the price of the annual grouse shoot, a popular pastime among City bankers, reached, £38,000 - more than the average British household earns in a year. Despite the record-high price, demand was stronger than ever. While the recession tightens the vice on the UK, the rich are making out better than ever.

These lucky few, one recalls, practically destroyed the world economy and obliterated trillions of dollars of wealth, not to mention thousands of jobs, when their reckless behaviour plunged the world economy into crisis two years ago. For their sins, they were given bailouts. With their bank profits restored, they paid themselves fat bonuses - which they now spend on gilt frivolities. When the government absorbed the resultant debt, it cut social and education spending. In the process, it placed huge obstacles in the life prospects of young Britons.

London's rioters were not politically enraged. They were opportunistic, amoral, grasping and selfish. Funnily enough, that's a pretty good description for the City bankers. The bankers got government money, the rioters are getting stiff sentences.

Now, tell me this isn't going to happen again.

John Rapley is the Bradlow fellow at the South African Institute of International Affairs. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and rapley.john@gmail.com.

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