I very much appreciate the even tone of your leader about recent riots in Britain (“Anarchy in the UK,” August 13, 2011). No need for surprises here. Nor for shame. But I would go a step farther. Once upon a time, young men’s aggression had its rightful place. Either they defended their “tribe” from looting by other tribes, or they engaged in looting themselves. Both were useful to their tribe. Since the agricultural revolution, young men either served as farm hands or as soldiers. Looting was their just reward. The industrial revolution made some of them serve in factories, but the rest remained essentially the same. Throughout the “civilized” history, they were rarely left to their own devices, though, for kings and queens knew them by heart. All of a sudden, the young men take the brunt of unemployment. And then their benefits are cut because of austerity measures following a boom that enriched but a few. What in the world would you expect from them but mayhem? It is the failure of the civilized world today to have forgotten what young men are good for.