Citing early experiments with rats, some theorists attribute rising crime to the "overcrowding" resulting from urbanization. If the analogy between humans and other mammals is accepted, however, then recent experiments with more closely related primates, which have shown almost no correlation between crowded conditions and aggression, would seem more pertinent. The primary point overlooked by these theorists, however, is that human beings, by virtue of their faculty of reason, are capable of adapting to such environments and choosing intelligent behavior, so that animal experiments are fundamentally irrelevant. In order to draw valid correlations between crime and the human environment, one must show how that environment affects the thinking processes and choices of human individuals, as in the present analysis.

Regulatory issues in a mixed economy such as subsidies, alternative methods of taxation, trade barriers, anti-discrimination laws, and "social security" pit groups of people against each other, creating apparent conflicts of interest based on economic class, race, gender, national origin, age, marital status, and so forth. In addition, politicians may find it advantageous to exploit and inflame these conflicts in public debate of such matters as tax policy, social security, and the allocation of subsidies such as welfare.