Some theorical background....
I have found today that there are 4 main theories on punishment : The rational choice, The sociological Determinism, the Biological Determinism and the Conflict theories. They all have an interesting side, I quickly summarize each of them and bring some personal comments.
The biological Determinism theory holds that certain physical caracteristics are likely to determine criminality. The White-caucasian morphology being considered as the ideal type. Surprisingly, some people still refer to that theory toda to explain for instance the overepresentation of the Black minority in prison.
The Sociological Determinism theory claims that sociological factors such as family, peer groups, neighborhood, unemployment, education, poverty and so on produce criminal behavior. Elaborated in the 20's - 30's, this means that factors beyond our control produce criminality, because people are not free to act, they are sociologically determined.
Along this theory, punishment should consists in the rehabilitation and resocialization of criminals. We can argue that application of such a theory has not proved successful since it has been applied to criminal offenders after their act, and not on poverty or bad education in general that produces potential criminals.
The Rational Choice theory* argues that people are consciously rational, therefore, they choose to act criminally. It was developped in accross the 18 and 19 centuries and abandonned after. It is coming back today as "neoclassical" theory. Basically, people weigh the costs and benefits of their action, hence, the punishment should be strong enough for them to make the costs outweigh the benefits. The deterrence is a way for the punisher to "deter" the punished from any new criminal attempt.
*The principles of this theory can apply to economy, international relations...everytime there are actors interacting with each other.
The Conflict theory argues that conflicts are fundamental and inherent of a social life. People fight for their values and norms. Social classes, ethnic groups, religious groups, economic model...there is a dominant norm and those who don't correspond are kicked out. That is why black people are so represented in prison : they don't fit the norm (WASP capitalist...)
For more explanation, go to 360degrees.org
The biological Determinism theory holds that certain physical caracteristics are likely to determine criminality. The White-caucasian morphology being considered as the ideal type. Surprisingly, some people still refer to that theory toda to explain for instance the overepresentation of the Black minority in prison.
The Sociological Determinism theory claims that sociological factors such as family, peer groups, neighborhood, unemployment, education, poverty and so on produce criminal behavior. Elaborated in the 20's - 30's, this means that factors beyond our control produce criminality, because people are not free to act, they are sociologically determined.
Along this theory, punishment should consists in the rehabilitation and resocialization of criminals. We can argue that application of such a theory has not proved successful since it has been applied to criminal offenders after their act, and not on poverty or bad education in general that produces potential criminals.
The Rational Choice theory* argues that people are consciously rational, therefore, they choose to act criminally. It was developped in accross the 18 and 19 centuries and abandonned after. It is coming back today as "neoclassical" theory. Basically, people weigh the costs and benefits of their action, hence, the punishment should be strong enough for them to make the costs outweigh the benefits. The deterrence is a way for the punisher to "deter" the punished from any new criminal attempt.
*The principles of this theory can apply to economy, international relations...everytime there are actors interacting with each other.
The Conflict theory argues that conflicts are fundamental and inherent of a social life. People fight for their values and norms. Social classes, ethnic groups, religious groups, economic model...there is a dominant norm and those who don't correspond are kicked out. That is why black people are so represented in prison : they don't fit the norm (WASP capitalist...)
For more explanation, go to 360degrees.org
posted by Cécile at 3:55 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home