The Tipping Point
This fabulous book came up again in a conversation I had today on the subway with a complete stranger. I thought we'd republish the informal review we posted weeks ago
The Tipping Point - reads like a scintillating sociology 101 journal article. Right now, I'm reading about the Broken Windows Theory, which has been used by urban sociologists to explain the ebb and flow of crime. Specifically, Gladwell examines NYC crime rates during the 80s and 90s. Simply put -- the Broken Windows Theory states that one way to deter the big criminals is by punishing and making an example of smaller, petty criminals. Take a broken window in a worsening neighborghood. If you leave a broken window unrepaired, those who were "thinking" of joining the crime wave will be further inclined to do so simply b/ c order and regulation appear absent. But if you fix the window right away, that sense of anarchy dwindles and future criminals take a step back. Another example Gladwell uses is subway control -- in the 80s, virtually no one paid for the subway fare, choosing instead to hop the turnstile and bypass the then dollar ride. To curb this, undercover police picked out the thiefs one by one, then lined them up for everyone entering the station to see that NYPD meant no. Reading the Dantean descriptions of NYC during the mid 80s makes me glad I was NOT here at that time - subways were 30 times worse, walking through the village was a risk in and of itself, and beggars wiped your windows at every street corner. I recall as a young boy coming to NYC with my dad - panhandlers were ubiquitous; about 8 years later we came back for the Macy's Parade -- by then Guiliani had weeded out all the pestilence.
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