The pseudo-profound idea that every social ill is a symptom of some deep moral sickness and can never be mitigated by simplistic treatments which fail to cure the gangrene at the core.
Smith wrote in 1986 that nothing could be done about violent crime in America, because violent crime was woven into the fabric of a violent American society. The fact that violent crime has declined massively since then shows that he was engaging in root-causism.
by LordSlonborg July 25, 2018