Finely balanced systems

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The recent breakout of rioting several cities in the UK (see the BBC's reporting), at once shocking and deeply troubling, suggests three things, and a recurrent theme. The theme is the fragility of the systems of interconnected relations, a the social network that we think of a civil society. Robert Putnam noted the decline in social capital a decade ago in Bowling Alone; James Coleman noted the effects of dense and closed network in constraining excess.Other factors that  this highlights are the role of social capital and social media, the impact of immigration, economic stagnation and wealth disparity, and competition in labor markets.

Social Media

Ties that connect disparate groups foster understanding and compromise. While the internet has put within people reach a diversity information at lower cost than ever before, it has also made choice regarding what information to attend to more necessary. My conjecture is that in most cases this leads increasing to confirmation bias in which information sources that are not congruent with ones current views tend to be viewed less than ones that are. The net effect is increasing polarization and a hardening of positions and a reduction in willingness to acknowledge the legitimacy of, let alone comprehend alternative interpretations. Worse still, its not just interpretation of the facts that divides an increasingly polarized world but the  lack of agreement on the facts themselves.The internet has also given rise to the "social media", applications like Facebook and Twitter, that allow for almost instant mobilization. Given the higher proportion of youth that use social media, there is perhaps a lack of experience and wisdom that might act as  moderating influence. Ideas spread virally and gather momentum though these social media enabled networks. Moreover, given the 'sound-bite' nature of social media postings, messages are simplified; nuanced and balanced argument is displaced by the attention grabbing and the radical.  

Immigration

Immigration policy hasn't helped - immigrants cannot immediately assimilate into their newly chosen homes. In bringing some of their culture with them they are perceived by incumbent residents as clannish, alien and threatening; what gave  many people a sense of what it meant to be British or American, usually overly simplified and superficial, is challenged by the new arrivals. Given the time taken for immigrants to assimilate, low rates of immigration might be acceptable since the relatively small proportion of immigrant communities makes it uneconomic for many products and services to be tailored specifically to that immigrant group, immigrant communities must venture out into the wider context of the society they have entered. But as immigration has risen, immigrant communities have grown, entertainment, advertising, products and services (even those provided by the state) have been tailored to the immigrant communities making it much less necessary for contact between the that community and the rest of society.

Economic prosperity and disparity

Rioting may be a reflection of disconnection, alienation and hopelessness. The realization that even modest prosperity is unattainable makes the short term gratification outweigh the (heavily discounted) future costs of breaking the law.
As The Economist notes:  "The high level of youth unemployment (20% of those aged 16 to 24 are out of work), the inequality of incomes and wealth and the effect of local authority spending cuts on youth services are all factors that might have contributed".

A startling aspect of the UK riots, is the diversity of occupations of those involved. According to the BBC: "Among them were a graphic designer, college students, a youth worker, a university graduate and a man signed up to join the army". Extreme measures are take by people who think they have little to loose of people who think they answer to a higher calling. The two are correlated; despair and disenchantment prompt people to look for spiritual 'non-earthly' answers.

We may be seeing the beginnings of a vicious circle. Polarization in government and in leaders' rhetoric increases the disdain for societal systems and structures which in turn leads to people looking for support in virtual and increasingly polarized on-line communities.  

Competition in labor markets

Outsourcing and the race to the bottom competition between workers which unionization mitigated in the 20^th century  has been replaced by competition between countries.  Wages for working and, this time round, middle class families are again under pressure from employers' ability to "dive and conquer" much as they did in the  19^th century. This reduces spending power and makes the propect of recovery from financial crisis of 2008 and the excesses that lead to it yet more remote. The realization that austerity is not temporary adds to a feeling of despondency, particularly for those at the bottom of the income distribution, leading to another vicious circle.

Globalization and changes in communication are altering the balance of a social system that evolved over decades if not centuries. Emerging from this morass will be a severe test of a nation's character. We are living in interesting times.