Why do people commit white collar crimes?

Answer 1

Greed.

Greed is the basic human condition. Everyone wants something, be it money or just enough food to fight back starvation. Greed is at the base of all crimes, white collar, blue collar, or no collar. This is a very general term of course, but it is broad enough to cover all crimes. One might kill in the name of self defense, but he still greedily preserved his own life with little regard for the man who was going to do the same to him. There are those who will argue otherwise but consider this: Can greed be attributed in any small or large way to the circumstances you describe?

Any other opinions are welcome of course, my answer is a blanket term and quite vague, but so was the question.