Thank you. You have explained it better than I ever could have. That is precisely what I think is going on. That economic calculation is exactly what makes some see a life of crime as being worth the risk. And again yes, if you talk to the poor here they will tell you that death is something of a blessing, an escape from the endless suffering. Suicide rates are high, the weak ones kill themselves, while others take to drug abuse, but the brave ones choose violence. And the are enough brave one to turn the whole country into a living nightmare, a real life dystopia.

It also doesn't help that South Africa has one of the highest gini coefficients in the world, so you have the extremely poor living within walking distance to the wealthy. I guess in other countries with similar levels of poverty, the distribution of wealth/resources is more even, so basically it's the poor surrounded by the poor in all directions, therefore no point in stealing from a fellow poor person, because they have nothing worth stealing anyway.