People Commit Crime for Selfish Reasons

It is normal for people to describe the world now as a dog eat dog world where we sometimes need to literally hurt or harm another just for our own survival or good. Hence, it is not surprising for us to see an increase in crime and lawlessness in our society as we see people harden themselves to commit bad deeds against their fellow humans.  Thus it is not wrong to say that most people commit crimes for selfish reasons as most crimes are caused by selfish desires like greed, lust, anger or jealousy.

Many people commit crime for their desire for money. Everyday, we read reports of increase in the number of cases of snatch theft, armed robbery and burglary, embezzlement of funds, and cheating. These criminals selfishly think of their own needs and wants, and in order to get easy money without working hard to earn their own money, they selfishly force or coerce and trick others to part with their hard-earned money and possession.  They don’t care if other people or families are affected or do not have enough, they just focus on themselves, what they want to do with the money they have taken by force. Sometimes, because of their love of money, they might just kill their uncooperative victims.

In addition, many people commit heinous crimes out of lust. They just want to satisfy their sexual desires and as a result they might force another unwilling party to engage in sexual acts. It hurts our heart when we read of rape cases that happen, especially when they involve young children or even mentally handicapped victims. These victims’ whole lives are destroyed, and they are traumatized for a long time, but these rapists have no regard for all that. They were too selfish to think about other people except themselves.

Lastly people also commit many other crimes for selfish reasons like anger or jealousy.  We read reports of how people commit murder during fights or commit road rage or kill someone just to silent those who know their secret or have something that they covet for. Some even kill their lovers who have a change of heart. These murderers are very selfish because they deny someone else the chance to live just for their own interest, survival or anger. They don’t think of the hurt and harm they cause to those who might lose their loved ones because of their actions.

Thus, the main driving force behind crimes is indeed selfishness. Although we are imperfect and would definitely seek our own interest, we must not deaden our conscience. If we are so self-centered until we are willing to sacrifice others for our own good, we will reap the consequences one day.