Chimpanzees, our closest relatives, are social animals. They live in large groups dominated by the most powerful male. The ranking order within each group is relatively stable, so that it can dedicate itself to foraging, mating, looking after the young, and so on. Perfectly nice cousins, right? Well, chimpanzees from the same group also steal from each other. They kill each other. To expand their foraging territory, troops of most powerful males raid neighboring groups of chimpanzees. This way they also abduct females from neighboring groups.

Familiar? Of course it is. Chimpanzees are our closest cousins, anyhow. So-called primitive humans do exactly as chimpanzees do, except that they are much more devious than their cousins. With the advent of animal husbandry and agriculture, troops of most powerful men enlarge their territories by raiding neighboring groups. Also, they abduct women. And they steal cattle and produce from neighboring groups. It is only late in human development that crime appears as such. Criminal behavior is suppressed by all means available, but it persists. The reason for this is that it is inborn. As soon as the thin crust of civilization crumbles, humans revert to the ways of their cousins. This is when crimes vanish as if by magic, at least in name, and our cousins lead the way.

Now, why all this ranting and raving? Because I am sick and tired of being told that criminal behavior has to do with economic inequality, racial or ethnic prejudices, caste or class divisions, and the like, as well as that it can thus be eradicated. All such explanations obscure the plain truth about our biological roots. The trouble is that there is no way around criminal behavior, for it is forever embedded into our very bodies. Indeed, we are still chimpanzees after so many millions of years of undisturbed evolution. Not to mention their much nastier cousins, it goes without saying.