The Moral High Ground is a dangerous place to be.

The causes of the riots have been widely discussed, alongside the factors that led to their spreading so rapidly. In summary, as it seems to me, anger against a specific event; generic anger against society, casual criminality, and opportunism are seen as the causes; and the amplifying factors are the broadcast media and the print media, both of which focus coverage on the extreme cases and make things seem worse than they are, and social media and smartphone technology. And the short-term forecast seems obvious to me; the same media coverage of the arrests and court process will be a strong disincentive to potential opportunism and casual criminality, so there will be no more mass disturbances, at least while the present coverage continues

And we now have politicians and pundits explaining it all in their own terms and with their own personal and political narrative. The moral high ground is a popular place to be, but there are dangers for anyone who takes this stance. For example:

Q: "Why has a culture of greed and instant gratification, rootless hedonism and amoral violence taken hold in parts of society?" (Michael Gove MP. August 2011)

A: Because some people see that some rich people are like that. So in 2006 Michael Gove claimed on his expenses that the following were 'wholly necessary' for th carrying out of his parliamentary duties: £331 for a Chinon armchair; £493 for a Manchu cabinet; £750 for a Loire table; £134 for a pair of elephant lamps, among a total of £7,000 for furniture. he repaid this whole sum voluntarily in 2009 when the details were published. If some of the recent behaviour of bankers and MPs is not redolent of a 'culture of greed and instant gratification and rootless hedonism' I don't know what is. At least they don't usually get into 'amoral violence'.

Now, I'm not claiming the moral high ground here; I haven't claimed expenses to which I was not entitled, but I am very comfortably off, having been a well-paid public servant now on a final salary pension. I don't know how I'ld feel or react if I was in the same economic straits as some of the offenders. But I understand the temptations and the frustrations of hearing 'Do as I say, not as I do.' And as an ex-Director of Children's services I know very well how high are the thresholds for care, which means the extremes of difficulty that a family must be facing before we even consider that they cannot cope.

So, will prison and eviction work? Clearly not; the offenders will be back on the streets very shortly, with, if anything, a worsening of their circumstances, and evicted people will have to live somewhere.

Finding solutions is not going to be easy; in my next blog I'll put my head over the parapet, but I am certain that zero tolerance at best hides the problem, which is economic poverty. And if I knew how to attract employers to set up business in Tottenham I would have the golden key.