Riots and Rollercoasters

So are the riots in England this week the product of vicious, opportunistic, disengaged youth? The footage we see of injured people being looted, shops trashed and buildings burned is disgusting and tends to the view that these people are just thugs.
Social science tends to the view that extreme disadvantage and inequality in society creates conditions where some young people are so disengaged from the mainstream to the point where they will attack their own communities. Poor parenting, violent peers and epidemic violent behaviour erupt into an ongoing accelerating, explosion of violence in certain neighbourhoods.
In the current riots in England, many commented "where are the parents?" after viewing the effects of the violence.A New Economics Foundation blog comments "The truth is that both Left and Right have a great deal to answer for creating this culture of entitlement, from the feral underclass to the feral elite – for abandoning their moral vision for society and replacing it with retailing. Both have been responsible in the UK for the corrosion of community and family life by the wrong kind of economics."  A view echoed by ABC commentator on The Drum.
I have met a number of people who have grown up in disadvantage - whether migrants, violent family background, whatever. Surely there is an individual responsibility to chose to be part of our society?
Community Indicators Victoria gives a number of interesting, comparative statistics on social indicators here.
 Unemployment and poverty amongst youth is a serious problem even in affluent Melbourne. Now that everyone has instant access to mobile phone/web 2 services,  the ability to quickly organize destructive violence is concerning to anyone like me who have teenagers.
The GFC rollercoaster moved private debt onto governments. In Europe and Britain the continuing high debt level of governments has lead to reductions in social services and employment. Can we be sure that any fiscal tightening here will  not have a disproportional effect on already severely disadvantaged people leading to a similar unravelling of community? Lets hope "a fair go for all" is an Australian reality.