I never steal and have never stolen

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That's my thought... I think most people have stolen minor things, especially as children, like how I used to swipe chocolate out of the cupboards at home, or filch coins from the coin jar; but stealing something that would actually hurt somebody or get you in trouble is not really that common.

Same here.

hmm.... I must say, that's clever

Theft is common. It just depends on how you define theft. Money, property, innocence, life, freedom, opportunity, dignity... Look at how much of the world treats women, their rights and dignity are stolen every day. Look at the LIBOR scandal. The bank bailouts. The people who lost their homes because they were promised a fantasy. Look at all of the bullying people on this forum have been subjected to, is taking someones self esteem not stealing also? What about the guy who rounds his miles up on the mileage report at work? Or the guy that works for cash so he doesn't have to report it to the IRS. Stealing is all around. It's systemic. It's human nature to take what other have.

The only things I've ever stolen were two candies from one of those bulk candy bins. Honestly, I'd steal almost everyday if it weren't for the fact that I'd get caught and imprisoned, which will in turn lead to me having a criminal record.

Me, too. I'd steal all the time if it's definitely safe to do so. But the fear of getting caught stops me. I steal little things from work quite often. I don't feel guilty because I don't like my company and those little things are very useful.

I have heard that their own employees are the majority of the theives that steal things/money from many companies.

My sister used to work in a supermarket as a checkout person. She and her friends used to steal the products together. They check out each other's purchases without actually scanning the items. That way the money in the cash register and the record would match. However, the employer suspected it and hired a undercover security guard (a scary old woman), and she was watching the employees. Finally my sister's friends got caught and fired. My sister got away because she wasn't there.

Regarding whether or not it's an AS trait to be too honest to steal, I think some (maybe not many) probably are affected by their AS and can't steal, but many are not affected. That's my opinion.

I've stolen before.

I'm sure most of the time when the employee gets caught it's because they become overconfident and start stealing constantly. Otherwise, the company they work for will usually never even notice or care.

If everyone every where agreed with this mindset and acted upon it, what would happen?

That seems to be a very simplistic world view, IMHO. It's not like "super rich large store chains" are going to just sit back and eat the loss. They are going to pass it on in the form of higher prices. To those of us who do not believe it is "okay if you can get away with it" to steal.

That being said, I did used to eat candy when I stalked shelves. Though I have to say I believe the store owners knew and didn't mind. We all did it, but no one stuffed their pockets with stuff. Just an occasional treat here or there.

I don't think it is necessarily an Aspie thing. More an integrity thing. Though I do think that the rigidity of some Aspies makes it easier for them to adhere to their own values.

If everyone did it then many more people would no doubt get caught, and then it would become wrong since they'd all look like fools. And then most of those people would quit shoplifting afterwards. That's why your hypothetical statement doesn't happen in the first place.

No. If everyone agreed with that view and everyone acted upon it, there would be utter chaos and lawlessness. People would just go into stores and take what they wanted. Prices would go sky high to offset the costs of lost merchandise and increased security. There would be more violence due to conflicts resulting from the behavior. It would not nearly be as simple as more people getting caught and looking foolish. It would change society, and not in a positive way. Besides, no one would look "foolish" because the cultural norm would be that there is nothing wrong with it. People don't look foolish for following cultural norms.

Seriously. Think through it. What would happen if everyone thought it was OK to steal from stores as long as they didn't get caught, and if everyone did it?

Whenever you want to know if a behavior is OK or not, just ask yourself what would happen to the human race if everyone did it. If the result is bad, it's not OK to do.

I've stolen a few things during my childhood.

But there's obviously a good chance of being caught, and most people know it. So what you're saying doesn't mean anything.

In 7th grade when "everybody else was doing it" I shoplifted a pack of candy from a quickmart, but I was so terrified the whole time that when I ate the candy, it didn't taste good. That was it for my stealing career except for going into my mom's purse. And one time she gave me a ten dollar bill instead of a one dollar bil for my lunch money and I didn't tell her.

I'm kind of stealing right now because I'm at work posting this. But I kind of make up for it by bringing my own office supplies from home instead of swiping them from work.

Oh, and I took coffee and toilet paper from work when we were really broke and about to run out at home--but only enough to last until I got paid again in a couple of days. Those are 2 things I don't want to go without.

I have no moral objections to stealing. The distribution of resources among people is already unequal, and not all stealing makes that inequality any worse.

Regardless, I haven't stolen anything since learning there was such a thing as property, mostly because if I'm going to break the law and risk getting caught, I'd rather do it for a less selfish reason, and stealing something for someone else has never been necessary.

Does this not assume that people who steal are in need or have less? I would say that the vast majority of people who steal are not in "need,"--perhaps in "want" or "desire"--and many have more than I do. What about the stealing that makes the inequality way worse?