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In the distant past, stealing was principally a preoccupation of the lower classes, the poor, vagrants etc. Their reasons were usually pretty basic. They would steal food and clothes to feed and dress their families. Nowadays however, it would seem that theft is rife throughout all levels of society. Some still steal clothes and food, but there has been, over the past few decades with changes in the global money market a change in some forms of theft.

There is now a greater profit to be made from stealing. Insider trading and other crimes involving larger sums of money occur regularly and it is this opportunity of instant and large 'profits' which is probably to blame for a lot of petty theft in modern times.

There also exists a strong argument which may sound at first glance a little absurd. It is argued, and there is evidence to support it, that a criminal nature is hereditary. Social experiments have been carried out involving children from criminal families who were adopted by law-abiding parents. These tests have shown that children from criminal blood lines will more than likely (though not at all necessarily) grow up to be criminals.

So while there are social reasons why people steal, there are also reasons beyond the control of the individuals concerned, which although it may seem hard to comprehend, does account for many of the reasons why people steal.

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