In 1971, a film came out that shocked audiences around the world. Stanley KubrickAn American film director, producer, screenwriter and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Kubrick's movies include The Killing, Spartacus, Dr Strangelove and Full Metal Jacket.'s A Clockwork Orange depicted a Britain where rovingConstantly wandering from one place to another. gangs of youths brutalisedTo treat someone in a needlessly violent and brutal way. innocent people for fun.

The film was banned in several countries, and pulled from cinemas in the UK after the media reported a number of young people copying the crimes.

But today, many people think they are living in a world not too far from A Clockwork Orange. The number of people reporting antisocial behaviour rose by 30% between 2015 and 2020. Some 37% of adults have experienced or seen antisocial behaviour in their community in the last year.¹

Politicians have promised to restore law and order. The ConservativesA traditionally right-wing or centre right political party in the UK. Members are sometimes called Tories. have banned laughing gasNitrous oxide; a powerful painkiller which is also used as a recreational drug. and increased police powers. LabourBritain's main left-of-centre political party. wants to recruit 13,000 more police officers.

But some feel there is no policing solution to a spiritual problem. One of them is US writer David Brooks, who believes we need a new kind of moral education to make us better people.

In the old days, he argues, schoolchildren were taught that right and wrong were facts of the universe, and they owed certain moral duties to other people.

But in the 20th Century all this changed. People were encouraged to explore their inner feelings rather than think about their duties to society.

The result, he claims, is that people no longer think they owe anything to each other, even basic kindness.

Brooks says bringing back moral education could encourage people to be nicer to each other. But some think this ignores the real problem.

They point out that since 2011, youth services have been cut by 69%, resulting in the closure of 750 youth centres.² These are places where young people would once have gathered to socialise and entertain themselves.

And as they get older, they argue, the young have little to look forward to. The young today are the first generation to be poorer than their parents.

With nowhere to go, few prospects, and little sense that any politicians speak for them, it is unsurprising that many young people are taking out their frustration on others.

Yes: Little by little, we have found ourselves in a moral vacuum, where no-one has a strong sense of right and wrong. People need to be taught their duties to others if we are to have a harmonious society again.

No: The problem is not that we do not know right from wrong. It is that we live in societies that are breaking down because of neglect and underfunding. People's behaviour corresponds to how they are treated.

Or... Neither moral education nor more youth centres will be enough in itself. Society has become much too atomised. We need to do something to restore people's sense of community.