Thomas Sowell, the brilliant black economist, has recently written three articles on "Social Degeneration." They are worth reading, so here is the link to the page: http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/sowell1.asp. Sowell writes about blacks in America (he can do it since he is black), and also about the hoodlums who tore up London recently. To Sowell, liberalism is the underlying cause, and surely this is true. But, it goes a little deeper than that.
Western Civilization was founded upon three things: Greek democracy, Roman/Common law, and Judeo-Christian morality. Those are the foundations which underlay western society, and any time the foundations of any structure begin to crack, it won't be long until that structure collapses. Democracy (not of the Greek sort, however) is still with us (though not among the elites who want and try to control society), but one could argue Roman/Common law is being abandoned, and there is no question that Judeo-Christian morality, among the elites, is no longer the standard by which matters are to be judged. Western Civilization, which for 2,000 years has been based upon Christianity, is adrift morally, having set itself loose from its Christian moorings. And, in one sense, it doesn't even matter if Christianity is true (which it is). The foundation is being destroyed and we are witnessing the collapse of the west. Liberals try to excuse hooliganism (in both the U.S. and England, read Sowell's articles), but to those who still hold to the traditions of our civilization, these are not "troubled" people who have been abused by society, they are hoodlums, making their own choices, who need the strong hand of the law to keep them in order. There has always been crime and sin in every society, and there always will be. It is not so much the crime today, it is how it is perceived and interpreted. Liberals excuse it, blaming it upon an unjust society (unless, of course, the crime is committed by a Christian or conservative), while conservatives still hold to the doctrine of individual responsibility. Liberals are winning this argument, and it is why western civilization is becoming terminal.
And, I'm sorry, but there's not a blasted thing that can be done about it because too few people see it. Rejection of Christianity is a rejection of western civilization and will lead to its collapse. I wouldn't necessarily argue that such (the collapse) is a bad thing (rejection of Christianity certainly is, however). But if western civilization is going to collapse, then something stable, some new foundation, must be set in order upon which to build a new civilization. The liberals haven't even come close to providing that foundation. Indeed, given their subjective, naturalistic philosophy, there is no way they can.
Christianity is the answer. There is not one single, solitary problem in our society, or in our world, that cannot be solved by a proper application of the teachings of Jesus Christ. But that means accepting Him and living by the standards God has given us. That, since Adam and Eve, has never happened, and it never will.
Pardon my hopelessness.