On Beccaria, the Economics of Crime, and the Philosophy of Punishment

Autori

  • Mark D. White Department of Philosophy College of Staten Island/CUNY

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4454/philinq.v2i2.94

Parole chiave:

Beccaria, Cesare, economics, crime, punishment, deterrence, retributivism, law and economics,

Abstract

This paper explores the influence of Cesare Beccaria's "On Crime and Punishments" on economists who study criminal behavior and the criminal law, particularly in the area of punishment, paying close attention to the aspects of Beccaria's thought that economists missed. The paper begins with a discussion of their shared utilitarianism, emphasizing Beccaria’s greater psychological depth. Next, it discusses the different ways they emphasize the proportionality of punishment. Finally, it explores Beccaria’s approach to deterrence, which is more complex than that found in the economics of crime, and also his embrace of some tenets of retributivism, which I believe economists would do well to emulate.

Biografia autore

Mark D. White, Department of Philosophy College of Staten Island/CUNY

Professor White is professor and chair of the Department of Philosophy at the College of Staten Island/CUNY, where he teaches courses in philosophy, economics, and law.

##submission.downloads##

Pubblicato

2014-07-02

Fascicolo

V. 2 N. 2 (2014)

Sezione

Focus

Licenza

Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication, with the work five (5) years after publication licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.

After five years from first publication, Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.