Curle describes six general situations in which alienation is likely to occur. Alienation is more likely among members of communities which have undergone rapid, constant change for more than thirty years. It is more likely in communities which have been under stresses such as war, famine and homelessness, or high unemployment. Alienation is increased in societies which have oppressed minorities. It is higher in communities which are isolated or marginalized from the general society.
Alienation is increase by a cultural emphasis on competitive materialism over cooperation.
Finally, alienation increases when traditional local culture is lost, overwhelmed by generic global practices. The ubiquity of McDonald's fast food is a potent symbol of such cultural loss. Contemporary Approaches to Peacemaking Part II explores peacemaking. Traditional diplomacy rests on the assumption that the combatants are rational and motivated by self interested objectives, rather than by violence or destruction. This situation is paralleled in the rise of motiveless, random violent crime.