Law and Order, versus Lawlessness

The nature of our species. We are the only species on Earth that exhibits "Malice Aforethought" in that Homo Sapiens are the only species that can commit a crime, like rape and murder, against another of our species, for pleasure or some other reason, like war. All other species kill for food, i.e., kill another species or sometimes others of the same species, only for food, and not for pleasure or selfish reasons.

The "Human" species has from the very beginning of recorded history, waged "War", and killed adversaries because of territorial disputes and many other reasons, including societal and racial differences, the pursuit of another country’s natural resources, like "Oil". We also have killed one another over senseless reasons. Some, like Serial Killers, kill  for pleasure because of mental illness.

That has been the norm for thousands of years. Mankind has also tried to justify their actions, in spite of trying to regulate and determine what was "Lawful" and what was deemed "Unlawful" through religions, i.e., like the "Ten Commandments" of the Judaic and Christian religions. Those basic commandments, like, "Thou Shalt Not Kill" certainly has been ignored as people have been killing other people in wars throughout our written history.

I believe that this new age we are entering, the "Age of Aquarius" will be the age that we as a species, see the elimination of wars, thus the elimination of the killing others of our species for all those reasons we felt we had before. A "World Society" with peace and happiness for all.

In a perfect, and universal "World Society", one that is truly governed from the bottom up by its "World Citizens", not by a totalitarian system by the selfish few, how do we, as a "World Society" view lawlessness and crime?  Are all acts of lawlessness and crime treated as criminal acts, or should some “Crimes” be treated as mental illnesses and deficiencies?

Obviously, if a person is found to be insane, we place him or her in a Mental Institution for "Treatment", usually with mind-altering drugs and in the worst-case scenario, with a lobotomy like depicted in the movie, "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest". Are Serial Killers insane? Do we "treat" them as people who are mentally ill, or do we take their life via execution? If we do institutionalize them as "Insane", do we ever release them as "Cured"? Have we ever "cured" someone after they raped and murdered fifty women? Certainly, the insane behavior should be treated and not "punished". How do we, as a "World Society" determine what is normal behavior and what is not?  What was considered abnormal and abhorrent not too long ago in our history as a species seems to slowly morphing into behavior that is becoming normalized in society today.

Pedophilia is a good example of a behavior that is slowly becoming acceptable as less than an abusive behavior that it truly is. Is it a sickness or a crime? Should a pedophile be imprisoned and punished as a criminal, or institutionalized as mentally ill and treated as such?

As a species, we will be continuing to evolve, and as we do, the idea represented as a "World Parliament", a government by and for the people will see a decrease in crime and the need for punishment as we have known it. As we evolve, I believe we are changing genetically towards being a more peaceful species, and will become a less and less species prone to violence and crime in general.

This initiative is created to discuss how we, as a species, should deal with the topic, "Crime and Punishment versus Lawlessness". Please feel free to contribute your thoughts and suggestions. Thank you.

TheUnknownSockPuppet