"The stability of a society depends on how it responds to the extremes of human behavior."

Response to extrema of human behavior can be quite an effective index of the stablity of the society. Though evaluating such behavior is subjective,it becomes relevant to the society when it disturbs its stability as a whole. For example, reactions to minor violations of traffic law typically vary from a knowing condescension to indignation. It becomes an issue affecting the society when the violations become frequent and have fatal results.
However, it is important to distinguish between acknowledging such behavior and actually responding to it. Responses can vary between extreme indifference to an active desire to root out the problem. For example, if a particular neighbourhood has a high incidence of thefts, the neighbours could form groups among themselves for patrolling the neighbourhood and eventually, making the place safer. Such a proactive response leads to a greater sense of security for the inhabitants and thus conforms to stabili...