A British center-left think tank has done an analysis of the words used by left-of-center and conservative analysts in determining the roots causes behind the UK riots. They looked at more than 200 articles from leading blogs on the left and the right. Perhaps there are no real surprises here. Those on the left preferred “structural explanations” for the riots, blaming economic conditions, budget cuts (which have not even yet taken effect!), and social malaise. In short, the left focuses “socio-economic context in their analysis,” the think tank Demos notes.
Conservatives on the other hand tend to focus on individual motivations and the breakdown of morality. They often use words such as “law,” “property” and “respect” in their analysis. (Conservatives used the word respect three times more often than those on the left.)
What does this mean? It means a lot in terms of where the UK goes from here. The left wants to fix the problem by launching large spending programs to get at the root causes. They are less interested in focusing on the individuals responsible, because in a very real way, they don’t necessarily believe anyone is directly responsible. It’s simply social conditions that caused this. Conservatives on the other hand are very keen and finding those who broke the law and making sure they get punished. They will likely want to upgrade the police and improve policing techniques.
Of course, some are now saying that both are wrong, and that you can’t delve too deeply into finding meaning in what happened. The chief motivation behind the violence? “Rioting is fun,” they say. Of course I don’t think the shopkeepers who were looted or the innocent bystanders who were injured would share in their merriment. This explanation alone seems to confirm what the conservatives are saying.