31 MARCH 1917, Page 17

Criminality and Economic Conditions. By W. A. Bonger. Translated by

H. P. Horton. (W. Heinemann. 21s. net.)—This learned treatise by a well-known Dutch scholar falls into two parts. First, the author reviews and criticizes severely the work of almost all criminologists, except Marx and Engels. Secondly, he develops his theory that crime is mainly the product of bad economic conditions, and that if society is reconstituted on a collectivist basis crime will tend to disappear. His American editor, Chief Justice Norcross, remarks that, if Dr. Bonger is right, " then the outlook for an early diminution in the volume of crime may not be overly encouraging," and that less drastic methods may still yield good results. Dr. Bonger's theory would postpone criminal reform to the Greek Kalends.