Behavioral Violence in a Consumer Society
The yearly household receipts of the Taiwan consumer grew rapidly after martial law was lifted in 1987 (Trappey 1997). With the emergence of democratic liberties and the ensuing liberalization of the economy, average disposable income tripled in eight years.
Income rose from $10,000 per year in the 1970s and the 1980s to almost $30,000 per year per household. The income distribution has been, for the most part, evenly distributed across consumer groups. On average, the high-income group, the mid-income group, and the low-income group differ by roughly $4,000 of annual income.Taiwan holds a special place in the development of modern consumer societies. First, almost every household (over 12 million households in 1997) experienced a tripling of income in fewer than eight years. Second, the differences between classes of income earners remained small as incomes increased, meaning that in a very short period of time, all consumers became equivalently wealthy. The transition from a poor, working class society under martial law to a free and democratic society awash with consumer goods has been structurally non-violent. The rise in income across all families is a major factor underlying Taiwan's relatively low levels of behavioral violence compared to other parts of the world.
Societies plagued with behavioral violence frequently have problems with class or race inequalities, war, corruption, drug and alcohol abuse, and child abuse. Taiwan's behavioral violence does not stem from inequalities, war, or high levels of drug abuse. The premise of this paper is that greed, envy, and the desire for instant gratification and power underlie much of Taiwan's behavioral violence. Organized groups and gang members in particular are the most serious source of violence because their desire for power and money compels the most despicable acts of violence.