Abstract

ZALUAR, Alba. Oito temas para debate: violência e segurança pública. Sociologia, Problemas e Práticas [online]. 2002, n.38, pp.19-24. ISSN 0873-6529.

In order to understand the question of violence and to be able to propose new public policies in Brazil, this text addresses some of the ideas that are most widely disseminated in both the mass media and the academic world at the moment. Limiting the explanation of the phenomenon to poverty and inequality prevents a more complex comprehension of the issue. Propositions concerning the existence of a culture of violence and the legitimate monopoly of violence - both erroneous - actually end up making it more difficult to understand the various different conflicts in the social and political arena. The trafficking-related links between the legal and illegal economies are also insufficiently taken into account in the theories that are needed if more effective and democratic public policies are to be established.

Keywords : Forms of violence; poverty; drug trafficking; public policies.

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