Jean de La Bruyere: Poverty Mother Crime
on Monday, July 23, 2018Jean de La Bruyere Money Quote saying that being poor means many are driven to crime as the only solution when there is a poverty of common sense. Jean de La Bruyere said:
“If poverty is the mother of crime, lack of good sense is the father” — Jean de La Bruyere
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In this quote, French writer Jean de La Bruyere seems to be challenging the common notion that poverty alone causes criminal behavior.
While acknowledging poverty can play a role (“poverty is the mother of crime”), La Bruyere argues the more significant factor is a “lack of good sense” or poor judgment and decision making. This suggests crime often stems more from personal choices and actions than just external circumstances alone according to La Bruyere’s perspective.
The overall interpretation is that La Bruyere believes poverty may enable or exacerbate crime, but the ultimate “father” or root cause is failures of character, intelligence or willpower that lead one to engage in criminal acts despite having alternatives, even if imperfect, available to them. So he appears to attribute crime more to internal deficiencies than just external conditions like socioeconomic status.
Birthday: August 16, 1645 – Death: May 11, 1696