We are not talking about the theft that we are aware of and for which we can go to prison. We will talk about the theft that we carry out every day and do not even notice that we are stealing. The most interesting thing is that the consequences of such theft are no less serious, and sometimes even more serious, than the consequences of obvious theft.
Theft as a phenomenon of modern life can be represented as an iceberg. The visible part is obvious theft. Investigative authorities are dealing with it. It has its own classification. There are thieves and robbers. They also talk about economic crimes, although in principle this is theft. I would define theft as the appropriation of something that does not belong to you.
These can be both material values and ideas. For this you can go to jail, or at least receive moral condemnation. The most terrible type of theft is the theft of both someone else's and your own time.
Criminally punishable and morally condemnable.
Criminally punishable, but not morally condemnable.
Not criminally punishable, but morally condemnable.
Not criminally punishable and not morally condemnable.
II. According to identification criteria.
Conscious theft.
Unconscious.
III. According to the object of theft.
Theft of property and money.
Stealing ideas.
Theft of honor.
Time theft.
IV. According to the subject of theft.
Theft from individuals and families.
Theft from businesses.
Theft from the state.
Stealing from oneself.
My dear reader, you understand that now I will give a very brief description of the recognized and criminally punishable forms of theft. But mainly, I will talk about unconscious and non-criminal forms. The worst thing about them is that a person gets used to stealing and often does not realize that he is doing it. He doesn't do it openly, he doesn't even realize that he is stealing, but he gets used to stealing.
Sooner or later he will start stealing consciously. We are fighting the surface of the iceberg. This is a completely useless waste of time, effort and money if we do not simultaneously make efforts to eliminate the underwater part of the iceberg. After all, after we cut off the surface part of the iceberg, the part that was underwater will become surface, and the underwater can only strengthen its power. The fight only against obvious crime, if we do not work against hidden crime, can only increase it. This happens when trying to get rid of a tree, when its branches are cut out without uprooting the root. The tree is only getting thicker.
So, let's proceed to a systematic presentation of the material. It is based on anonymous sociological surveys conducted by us, as well as surveys conducted by other sociologists...
I will not dwell on it in detail. Almost everyone morally condemns theft from individuals. This category includes pickpockets, burglars, burglars and bandits. Fewer people are convicted of theft in commercial enterprises. Even fewer people condemn theft from the state.
2. Criminally punishable, but not morally condemnable theft.
This is, first of all, theft from the state. It is not even recognized as theft by many, but is seen as the return of what was previously taken from him. A lot of people steal here. Whoever can. The forms are different: from economic crimes to attempts to evade paying taxes or taking material assets from one’s production for personal use. During the years of stagnation, no one blamed a doctor or nurse if he took from his post a few tablets for headaches or a dozen ampoules of glucose or some other remedy for his personal use.
These two types of theft can also be divided into two options: disclosed and undisclosed.
The outcome of detected theft is punishment. If the theft is minor and the punishment is light, then it is possible that the thief will come to his senses and will not steal again. If the punishment is excessive, and the thief goes to prison, then he will go to school there and can become a professional thief.
The outcome of an unsolved theft depends on the identity of the thief. Those who are still focused on a legal life in society can be in such fear for a long time that they will punish themselves more severely than the judge, and will no longer steal. But more often, an unsolved theft rather stimulates a person to commit the next theft, which will do everything on a larger scale and with fewer precautions.
But even successful thieves of all stripes, who are aware that their actions fall under an article of the criminal code, are still in a state of pronounced emotional stress, as evidenced by their lifestyle - drugs, alcohol, excessive attention to sex, which somewhat serve as an object of pleasure , how many are tranquilizers that relieve anxiety if used in small doses and turn off consciousness if used in large quantities.
It should be noted that with this lifestyle, complete, full-fledged sex gradually becomes less, and drugs and alcohol become more and more. This continues until alcohol or drugs lead to personality degradation, physical insanity and dementia. All this leads to the fact that the thief stops committing a crime. I sometimes think that if we stopped fighting drug use, and drug addicts were placed separately from us, like Indians on reservations, from which they could leave to complete transactions or work, then the level of drug addiction would drop sharply. On the reservations themselves, they could organize their own production, grow poppy, etc. I understand that society would never agree to this. Therefore, I will not pursue this. But I am clearly convinced of one thing: modern methods of combating this infection will not give any effect.
3. Not criminally punishable, but morally condemnable.
In our country this is theft on an especially large scale. I don’t know the salaries of our officials, but what they have can hardly be bought with these salaries. Formally, I earn no less than many of my friends, but I will never be able to afford what they allow. If sometimes someone is judged, this is rather an exception to the rule or a way to deal with a competitor during the redistribution of property. Shooting is done more often. But all the executions of the rich do not cause the anger of the people, which can arise when a little girl is killed or raped.
But still, most often it is petty household theft. A neighbor in the country may not give back an instrument that he borrowed for only a few hours. A co-worker may often not give up a small amount of money. Often these forms of theft are not realized by the thieves themselves, but not by those who are victims of the crime. People in the thief-victim roles often change places. But when I steal, I may not realize it, but I’m unlikely to forget what was stolen from me.
If you don’t want to have enemies, pay off small debts and don’t be offended if you are reminded of this, but thank the person. It is better to write down these small debts. It has long been noted that lost money or property in a short time grows in the minds of the victim tens and sometimes hundreds of times.
Has it ever happened to you, my dear reader, that you were short of the amount that was not returned to you? Remember what you were thinking then? “Now, if this debt was returned to me, I would be able to buy this thing.” And the thing itself is worth many times more than the amount of debt. You immediately get the feeling that this huge amount has not been returned to you, followed by rage at the one who deprived you of the opportunity to acquire such a valuable thing. Moreover, you think this more than once, 10, 15, or even 20 times, and in general, every time you lack exactly this amount or even more.
It should be borne in mind that if you do not repay small debts, then sooner or later they will stop lending to you. For those who lend, it is better to think that this debt will never be returned to them or that they simply made a gift to the person to whom they lent money. Then it will be easy for you to know how much you should buy gifts for. But still some pay back their debts. Then you will have the opportunity to rejoice once again. Just don't borrow a lot.
By the way, the one who did not repay the debt to you will no longer come to you to lend. For a small amount you will get rid of a dishonest person. Listen to the story of one of my students, a teacher by profession, who earned money as a book seller: “I usually easily give books to my students and allow them to bring money for the book later. I can also lend you a small amount of money. Over the course of many years, two or three people did not get their money back. But they didn’t come to me anymore! For a small amount of money for me, I got rid of several scammers.”
Stealing from “our own people” is universally condemned, even among criminals. Then they say that he does not live according to “concepts.” Such a thief is punished there much more severely than if professional judges would punish him for such an act. They say that the problem of immorality has become relevant in the criminal environment. There they began to steal more often from their own people.
4. Not criminally punishable and not morally condemnable.
I have already given an example of this form of theft. It is the failure to return the books you read to your intelligent friends. My dear reader, I would like you to clearly understand that your friends will try not to return a good book to you. Friendship always presupposes a similarity of interests. So if you need a book, your friend needs it too.
In addition, you read the book you need quite often, make some notes on which you can recreate the thoughts that arise when reading this book. When you give this book to someone to read, there is at least three times more information for you than in the new book. Therefore, the loss of such a book can never be made up, because these are your unique thoughts. In addition, by your marks in the margins and underlining, an intelligent person (and you don’t hang out with stupid people) can understand your whole essence, your whole soul.
Are you ready to fully open up to this person? Hence the conclusion: never give anyone to read the book that you read many times, the book that is a guide in your life. If you still cannot refuse your friends, then buy two copies of this book. The second copy will be for you to borrow and read. Even if they don't return it, the loss will be small.
But I would like to tell you directly that these criteria (legal and moral) are historical and conditional in nature. Laws are like a web - they only hold the weak, as the great ancient Greek sage Solon said. Over time, laws change. What we used to call speculation, that is, theft, is now called entrepreneurship. What used to be called deception is now called multi-level marketing and the like.
Besides, I'm not an expert here. These are just my thoughts and practical recommendations. They helped me.
It interests us to a lesser extent. This is done by professional thieves. Depending on the scale of the crime, it is carefully planned. Here everything happens like in sex. There is an ideation stage, when the thought arises that it is still worth stealing. Then comes the production stage, when the details of the operation are planned. Then comes the training (presexual stage), then the actual process of theft (analogous to the sexual stage). Then comes the post-sexual stage, which is called spoil sharing here. So in theft, as in sex, the most important thing is the post-sexual stage. When it comes to dividing up the spoils, thieves often cannot come to an agreement if they do not live according to “concepts.”
We are less interested in professional theft. But I would like to note that finding a professional thief is now not as easy as finding a professional in general to any degree. Nowadays, among the people who have made theft their profession, there are not as many professionals as in other professions. But it is very difficult to find a professional in any environment, even where they are not hiding, but rather advertising themselves.
In the book “Bandaging Mental Wounds...” I gave the criteria for a professional among psychotherapists and psychologists. One of them may be the most important. They hardly advertise themselves. Moreover, a professional thief does not advertise himself. One of its characteristics is that it leaves virtually no traces. He tries to steal with minimal effort.
After his work, the external situation practically does not change, there are no acts of vandalism, he does not have to kill, since in a well-planned theft the subject of the theft is either absent or so engrossed in something that he usually does not see the thief himself. Moreover, he is interested in keeping his victim alive and working, so that later he can take something else away from her. They will not intimidate their client, but on the contrary, they will help him get out of a difficult situation, help him earn money, and then maybe confiscate him and even more.
I would like to give a case from practice. One of my wards organized a good oil mill. Received a loan to expand production. But he made one strategic mistake. He lent most of this money to his relatives. When the time came for settlement, the relatives naturally did not return this money. As they say now, they “attacked” him and threatened to kill him if he did not pay off his debts on time. Maybe he could have gotten out of it somehow, but he looked very depressed. HE still wondered why no one lent him money.
I took him to the mirror and told him to look at himself and asked: “Will someone really give a loan to a person with such a look? We worked with him a little. He spoke in a completely different tone with his creditors. They believed in his entrepreneurial spirit. His mood improved. In the end, he paid off his debts. But if he hadn’t been bullied, he would have paid off his debts faster. Maybe racketeers will read this book and stop acting only with threats. Maybe they will help an enterprising person in principle and get even more than they expected. But unfortunately, there are few professionals among racketeers. They do not so much achieve their goal as take out their neurotic grievances on people dependent on them.
Unfortunately, there is a lot of neuroticism in conscious theft. The desire to prove something to someone, to discharge emotionally, to demonstrate oneself, to take revenge on someone, etc. There are also many aspects related to psychological defense. Most often, rationalization occurs here. “The state (enterprise, certain person) constantly robs me. I don’t steal, I just return to myself what was stolen from me.” The efficiency of such theft is often no more than 20%, slightly more than that of a steam locomotive, even if it is successful. A professional thief spends much less effort on this, leaves fewer traces, and is caught much less often.
2. Unconscious theft.
A classic example of unconscious theft is described in A.P. Chekhov’s story “The Intruder.” The hero of the story, an illiterate peasant, was unscrewing the nuts that secured the rails to the sleepers. He used these nuts as a sinker for a fishing rod. He never understood why he was convicted. After all, he did not tighten all the nuts, but only one of the four. By the way, other villagers also successfully did this.
An unlimited number of examples of unconscious theft can be given. No one considers it theft if he passes a bus stop and does not pay, and even if he travels the entire route for free, this will not upset him either and he will justify himself. They steal in small things from their own enterprises. At a construction site, this means construction materials that can be carried away; at enterprises, food products. A restaurant director will not consider it theft if he has lunch in his restaurant and does not pay.
There are many examples of unconscious theft. Most often, friends steal from each other without realizing that they are stealing. This manifests itself more often in the form of “barter”. Service for service. Many doctors complained to me about this. A neighbor driver delivers free cargo once a year, and uses his services for several years. The opposite also happens. The doctor provided the service once, but uses it many times.
A psychotherapist friend of mine told me a funny story. One of his charges is a fairly wealthy man. He drives a jeep. I went to groups several times, and after the group I gave the doctor a ride home. They talked while driving. He tried to drag out this conversation for a longer time. Then he stopped going to groups altogether, but came to the end of the group in order to take the doctor home. It is not difficult to calculate how much he stole from him. He actually sought an individual consultation, which cost as much as the entire group paid, and in the form of barter he paid with a taxi driver’s service, which cost 20 times less. Of course, neither the doctor nor the patient realized this. Then the doctor realized that he was being robbed. I advised him to stop stealing himself - to refuse his services and call a taxi. Immediately everything fell into place.
Material assets are unknowingly stolen less often than intellectual assets. Many intellectuals of various professions complain about such theft. Most often they try to rob lawyers, doctors, economists, psychologists, translators, planners, draftsmen, and designers in this regard. They steal this way at work, in transport, but more often in places of rest. Therefore, many people on vacation, on a business trip and on a trip try not to talk about their profession, especially those who have reached fairly high heights in their field. They simply hide their profession.
But most often, people unknowingly steal from each other the most valuable thing - time. At the same time, they believe that they are still showing some kind of mercy to the person. Most often, it’s a heart-to-heart conversation with your buddies and friends, which can drag on for hours.
More often it is conscious, criminally punishable and morally condemnable.
2. Stealing ideas.
Often unconscious, rarely criminally punishable. Morally reprehensible. Not realized due to lack of general education or due to unconscious psychological mechanisms. Give examples - who said meow first. Schemes, principles. Give an example of Kozlov. Crowding out. Be sure to cite the author and keep notes. Be creative and produce new ones all the time. Stealing lecture notes, printing my lectures, etc. Now I publish everything, and then I talk about it.
3. Time theft.
The most common and dangerous type of theft. We have a lot of chronophages. Shy people practice chronophagy. Here at a lecture they are embarrassed to ask a question, but then they write letters and demand attention. Morally not condemnable and not criminally punishable. If they are condemned, it is more likely to be the one who does not allow himself to be robbed.
Doctors are often condemned for not wanting to admit extra patients. They condemn him when he wants to take money for it. They condemn the person invited to visit if he refuses to come. A friend who doesn't want to listen to your complaints is judged. After all, she cannot help. No one pays for lost time if they do not show up for the scheduled meeting. A person may not come to a visit to a doctor, hairdresser, tailor, although he has already made an appointment. After all, he actually stole his time.
Usually morally condemnable, criminally punishable and conscious. Theft from enterprises is criminally punishable, sometimes morally condemnable, sometimes encouraged.
2. Theft from the state.
Criminally punishable, but not morally condemnable, often unconscious.
3. Stealing from yourself.
It is not criminally punishable, often unconscious, morally welcomed (it does not take into account personal time - it was written in the characteristics of the Soviet era as an employee’s advantage, although this is a big drawback). Actually, in the end, every type of theft is theft from itself. If you avoid taxes, the state becomes poorer and cannot protect you. If you don’t pay on the bus, there will be fewer people on the line, there will be a crush, you’ll wash your clothes faster, and you’ll be late for work. If you deceive your partner, you can lose him, and even gain a reputation.
The most dangerous thing is unpunished theft - a person loses control, relaxes and gets caught. The fate of the one who steals is worse than the one from whom they steal. The robbed person gains experience.
We steal - we have to maintain a large police force, which we pay for.
I also steal honor - slander, I didn’t keep my promise. There is also theft of time.
Examples of theft: An official detained a bus. A lecturer who stole time for arguing.
Any theft is, ultimately, theft from ourselves.
(c) http://litvak.me/statyi/article_post/psihologiya-vorovstva
Theft as a phenomenon of modern life can be represented as an iceberg. The visible part is obvious theft. Investigative authorities are dealing with it. It has its own classification. There are thieves and robbers. They also talk about economic crimes, although in principle this is theft. I would define theft as the appropriation of something that does not belong to you.
These can be both material values and ideas. For this you can go to jail, or at least receive moral condemnation. The most terrible type of theft is the theft of both someone else's and your own time.
Classification of theft:
I. According to the criteria of morality and jurisprudence.Criminally punishable and morally condemnable.
Criminally punishable, but not morally condemnable.
Not criminally punishable, but morally condemnable.
Not criminally punishable and not morally condemnable.
II. According to identification criteria.
Conscious theft.
Unconscious.
III. According to the object of theft.
Theft of property and money.
Stealing ideas.
Theft of honor.
Time theft.
IV. According to the subject of theft.
Theft from individuals and families.
Theft from businesses.
Theft from the state.
Stealing from oneself.
My dear reader, you understand that now I will give a very brief description of the recognized and criminally punishable forms of theft. But mainly, I will talk about unconscious and non-criminal forms. The worst thing about them is that a person gets used to stealing and often does not realize that he is doing it. He doesn't do it openly, he doesn't even realize that he is stealing, but he gets used to stealing.
Sooner or later he will start stealing consciously. We are fighting the surface of the iceberg. This is a completely useless waste of time, effort and money if we do not simultaneously make efforts to eliminate the underwater part of the iceberg. After all, after we cut off the surface part of the iceberg, the part that was underwater will become surface, and the underwater can only strengthen its power. The fight only against obvious crime, if we do not work against hidden crime, can only increase it. This happens when trying to get rid of a tree, when its branches are cut out without uprooting the root. The tree is only getting thicker.
So, let's proceed to a systematic presentation of the material. It is based on anonymous sociological surveys conducted by us, as well as surveys conducted by other sociologists...
I. According to the criteria of morality and jurisprudence
1. Criminally punishable and morally condemnable theft.I will not dwell on it in detail. Almost everyone morally condemns theft from individuals. This category includes pickpockets, burglars, burglars and bandits. Fewer people are convicted of theft in commercial enterprises. Even fewer people condemn theft from the state.
2. Criminally punishable, but not morally condemnable theft.
This is, first of all, theft from the state. It is not even recognized as theft by many, but is seen as the return of what was previously taken from him. A lot of people steal here. Whoever can. The forms are different: from economic crimes to attempts to evade paying taxes or taking material assets from one’s production for personal use. During the years of stagnation, no one blamed a doctor or nurse if he took from his post a few tablets for headaches or a dozen ampoules of glucose or some other remedy for his personal use.
These two types of theft can also be divided into two options: disclosed and undisclosed.
The outcome of detected theft is punishment. If the theft is minor and the punishment is light, then it is possible that the thief will come to his senses and will not steal again. If the punishment is excessive, and the thief goes to prison, then he will go to school there and can become a professional thief.
The outcome of an unsolved theft depends on the identity of the thief. Those who are still focused on a legal life in society can be in such fear for a long time that they will punish themselves more severely than the judge, and will no longer steal. But more often, an unsolved theft rather stimulates a person to commit the next theft, which will do everything on a larger scale and with fewer precautions.
But even successful thieves of all stripes, who are aware that their actions fall under an article of the criminal code, are still in a state of pronounced emotional stress, as evidenced by their lifestyle - drugs, alcohol, excessive attention to sex, which somewhat serve as an object of pleasure , how many are tranquilizers that relieve anxiety if used in small doses and turn off consciousness if used in large quantities.
It should be noted that with this lifestyle, complete, full-fledged sex gradually becomes less, and drugs and alcohol become more and more. This continues until alcohol or drugs lead to personality degradation, physical insanity and dementia. All this leads to the fact that the thief stops committing a crime. I sometimes think that if we stopped fighting drug use, and drug addicts were placed separately from us, like Indians on reservations, from which they could leave to complete transactions or work, then the level of drug addiction would drop sharply. On the reservations themselves, they could organize their own production, grow poppy, etc. I understand that society would never agree to this. Therefore, I will not pursue this. But I am clearly convinced of one thing: modern methods of combating this infection will not give any effect.
3. Not criminally punishable, but morally condemnable.
In our country this is theft on an especially large scale. I don’t know the salaries of our officials, but what they have can hardly be bought with these salaries. Formally, I earn no less than many of my friends, but I will never be able to afford what they allow. If sometimes someone is judged, this is rather an exception to the rule or a way to deal with a competitor during the redistribution of property. Shooting is done more often. But all the executions of the rich do not cause the anger of the people, which can arise when a little girl is killed or raped.
But still, most often it is petty household theft. A neighbor in the country may not give back an instrument that he borrowed for only a few hours. A co-worker may often not give up a small amount of money. Often these forms of theft are not realized by the thieves themselves, but not by those who are victims of the crime. People in the thief-victim roles often change places. But when I steal, I may not realize it, but I’m unlikely to forget what was stolen from me.
If you don’t want to have enemies, pay off small debts and don’t be offended if you are reminded of this, but thank the person. It is better to write down these small debts. It has long been noted that lost money or property in a short time grows in the minds of the victim tens and sometimes hundreds of times.
Has it ever happened to you, my dear reader, that you were short of the amount that was not returned to you? Remember what you were thinking then? “Now, if this debt was returned to me, I would be able to buy this thing.” And the thing itself is worth many times more than the amount of debt. You immediately get the feeling that this huge amount has not been returned to you, followed by rage at the one who deprived you of the opportunity to acquire such a valuable thing. Moreover, you think this more than once, 10, 15, or even 20 times, and in general, every time you lack exactly this amount or even more.
It should be borne in mind that if you do not repay small debts, then sooner or later they will stop lending to you. For those who lend, it is better to think that this debt will never be returned to them or that they simply made a gift to the person to whom they lent money. Then it will be easy for you to know how much you should buy gifts for. But still some pay back their debts. Then you will have the opportunity to rejoice once again. Just don't borrow a lot.
By the way, the one who did not repay the debt to you will no longer come to you to lend. For a small amount you will get rid of a dishonest person. Listen to the story of one of my students, a teacher by profession, who earned money as a book seller: “I usually easily give books to my students and allow them to bring money for the book later. I can also lend you a small amount of money. Over the course of many years, two or three people did not get their money back. But they didn’t come to me anymore! For a small amount of money for me, I got rid of several scammers.”
Stealing from “our own people” is universally condemned, even among criminals. Then they say that he does not live according to “concepts.” Such a thief is punished there much more severely than if professional judges would punish him for such an act. They say that the problem of immorality has become relevant in the criminal environment. There they began to steal more often from their own people.
4. Not criminally punishable and not morally condemnable.
I have already given an example of this form of theft. It is the failure to return the books you read to your intelligent friends. My dear reader, I would like you to clearly understand that your friends will try not to return a good book to you. Friendship always presupposes a similarity of interests. So if you need a book, your friend needs it too.
In addition, you read the book you need quite often, make some notes on which you can recreate the thoughts that arise when reading this book. When you give this book to someone to read, there is at least three times more information for you than in the new book. Therefore, the loss of such a book can never be made up, because these are your unique thoughts. In addition, by your marks in the margins and underlining, an intelligent person (and you don’t hang out with stupid people) can understand your whole essence, your whole soul.
Are you ready to fully open up to this person? Hence the conclusion: never give anyone to read the book that you read many times, the book that is a guide in your life. If you still cannot refuse your friends, then buy two copies of this book. The second copy will be for you to borrow and read. Even if they don't return it, the loss will be small.
But I would like to tell you directly that these criteria (legal and moral) are historical and conditional in nature. Laws are like a web - they only hold the weak, as the great ancient Greek sage Solon said. Over time, laws change. What we used to call speculation, that is, theft, is now called entrepreneurship. What used to be called deception is now called multi-level marketing and the like.
Besides, I'm not an expert here. These are just my thoughts and practical recommendations. They helped me.
II. Now let’s look at the criterion of awareness
1. Conscious theft.It interests us to a lesser extent. This is done by professional thieves. Depending on the scale of the crime, it is carefully planned. Here everything happens like in sex. There is an ideation stage, when the thought arises that it is still worth stealing. Then comes the production stage, when the details of the operation are planned. Then comes the training (presexual stage), then the actual process of theft (analogous to the sexual stage). Then comes the post-sexual stage, which is called spoil sharing here. So in theft, as in sex, the most important thing is the post-sexual stage. When it comes to dividing up the spoils, thieves often cannot come to an agreement if they do not live according to “concepts.”
We are less interested in professional theft. But I would like to note that finding a professional thief is now not as easy as finding a professional in general to any degree. Nowadays, among the people who have made theft their profession, there are not as many professionals as in other professions. But it is very difficult to find a professional in any environment, even where they are not hiding, but rather advertising themselves.
In the book “Bandaging Mental Wounds...” I gave the criteria for a professional among psychotherapists and psychologists. One of them may be the most important. They hardly advertise themselves. Moreover, a professional thief does not advertise himself. One of its characteristics is that it leaves virtually no traces. He tries to steal with minimal effort.
After his work, the external situation practically does not change, there are no acts of vandalism, he does not have to kill, since in a well-planned theft the subject of the theft is either absent or so engrossed in something that he usually does not see the thief himself. Moreover, he is interested in keeping his victim alive and working, so that later he can take something else away from her. They will not intimidate their client, but on the contrary, they will help him get out of a difficult situation, help him earn money, and then maybe confiscate him and even more.
I would like to give a case from practice. One of my wards organized a good oil mill. Received a loan to expand production. But he made one strategic mistake. He lent most of this money to his relatives. When the time came for settlement, the relatives naturally did not return this money. As they say now, they “attacked” him and threatened to kill him if he did not pay off his debts on time. Maybe he could have gotten out of it somehow, but he looked very depressed. HE still wondered why no one lent him money.
I took him to the mirror and told him to look at himself and asked: “Will someone really give a loan to a person with such a look? We worked with him a little. He spoke in a completely different tone with his creditors. They believed in his entrepreneurial spirit. His mood improved. In the end, he paid off his debts. But if he hadn’t been bullied, he would have paid off his debts faster. Maybe racketeers will read this book and stop acting only with threats. Maybe they will help an enterprising person in principle and get even more than they expected. But unfortunately, there are few professionals among racketeers. They do not so much achieve their goal as take out their neurotic grievances on people dependent on them.
Unfortunately, there is a lot of neuroticism in conscious theft. The desire to prove something to someone, to discharge emotionally, to demonstrate oneself, to take revenge on someone, etc. There are also many aspects related to psychological defense. Most often, rationalization occurs here. “The state (enterprise, certain person) constantly robs me. I don’t steal, I just return to myself what was stolen from me.” The efficiency of such theft is often no more than 20%, slightly more than that of a steam locomotive, even if it is successful. A professional thief spends much less effort on this, leaves fewer traces, and is caught much less often.
2. Unconscious theft.
A classic example of unconscious theft is described in A.P. Chekhov’s story “The Intruder.” The hero of the story, an illiterate peasant, was unscrewing the nuts that secured the rails to the sleepers. He used these nuts as a sinker for a fishing rod. He never understood why he was convicted. After all, he did not tighten all the nuts, but only one of the four. By the way, other villagers also successfully did this.
An unlimited number of examples of unconscious theft can be given. No one considers it theft if he passes a bus stop and does not pay, and even if he travels the entire route for free, this will not upset him either and he will justify himself. They steal in small things from their own enterprises. At a construction site, this means construction materials that can be carried away; at enterprises, food products. A restaurant director will not consider it theft if he has lunch in his restaurant and does not pay.
There are many examples of unconscious theft. Most often, friends steal from each other without realizing that they are stealing. This manifests itself more often in the form of “barter”. Service for service. Many doctors complained to me about this. A neighbor driver delivers free cargo once a year, and uses his services for several years. The opposite also happens. The doctor provided the service once, but uses it many times.
A psychotherapist friend of mine told me a funny story. One of his charges is a fairly wealthy man. He drives a jeep. I went to groups several times, and after the group I gave the doctor a ride home. They talked while driving. He tried to drag out this conversation for a longer time. Then he stopped going to groups altogether, but came to the end of the group in order to take the doctor home. It is not difficult to calculate how much he stole from him. He actually sought an individual consultation, which cost as much as the entire group paid, and in the form of barter he paid with a taxi driver’s service, which cost 20 times less. Of course, neither the doctor nor the patient realized this. Then the doctor realized that he was being robbed. I advised him to stop stealing himself - to refuse his services and call a taxi. Immediately everything fell into place.
Material assets are unknowingly stolen less often than intellectual assets. Many intellectuals of various professions complain about such theft. Most often they try to rob lawyers, doctors, economists, psychologists, translators, planners, draftsmen, and designers in this regard. They steal this way at work, in transport, but more often in places of rest. Therefore, many people on vacation, on a business trip and on a trip try not to talk about their profession, especially those who have reached fairly high heights in their field. They simply hide their profession.
But most often, people unknowingly steal from each other the most valuable thing - time. At the same time, they believe that they are still showing some kind of mercy to the person. Most often, it’s a heart-to-heart conversation with your buddies and friends, which can drag on for hours.
III. By object of theft
1. Theft of property and money.More often it is conscious, criminally punishable and morally condemnable.
2. Stealing ideas.
Often unconscious, rarely criminally punishable. Morally reprehensible. Not realized due to lack of general education or due to unconscious psychological mechanisms. Give examples - who said meow first. Schemes, principles. Give an example of Kozlov. Crowding out. Be sure to cite the author and keep notes. Be creative and produce new ones all the time. Stealing lecture notes, printing my lectures, etc. Now I publish everything, and then I talk about it.
3. Time theft.
The most common and dangerous type of theft. We have a lot of chronophages. Shy people practice chronophagy. Here at a lecture they are embarrassed to ask a question, but then they write letters and demand attention. Morally not condemnable and not criminally punishable. If they are condemned, it is more likely to be the one who does not allow himself to be robbed.
Doctors are often condemned for not wanting to admit extra patients. They condemn him when he wants to take money for it. They condemn the person invited to visit if he refuses to come. A friend who doesn't want to listen to your complaints is judged. After all, she cannot help. No one pays for lost time if they do not show up for the scheduled meeting. A person may not come to a visit to a doctor, hairdresser, tailor, although he has already made an appointment. After all, he actually stole his time.
IV. By subject of theft
1. Theft from individuals and families.Usually morally condemnable, criminally punishable and conscious. Theft from enterprises is criminally punishable, sometimes morally condemnable, sometimes encouraged.
2. Theft from the state.
Criminally punishable, but not morally condemnable, often unconscious.
3. Stealing from yourself.
It is not criminally punishable, often unconscious, morally welcomed (it does not take into account personal time - it was written in the characteristics of the Soviet era as an employee’s advantage, although this is a big drawback). Actually, in the end, every type of theft is theft from itself. If you avoid taxes, the state becomes poorer and cannot protect you. If you don’t pay on the bus, there will be fewer people on the line, there will be a crush, you’ll wash your clothes faster, and you’ll be late for work. If you deceive your partner, you can lose him, and even gain a reputation.
The most dangerous thing is unpunished theft - a person loses control, relaxes and gets caught. The fate of the one who steals is worse than the one from whom they steal. The robbed person gains experience.
We steal - we have to maintain a large police force, which we pay for.
I also steal honor - slander, I didn’t keep my promise. There is also theft of time.
Examples of theft: An official detained a bus. A lecturer who stole time for arguing.
Any theft is, ultimately, theft from ourselves.
(c) http://litvak.me/statyi/article_post/psihologiya-vorovstva
