Hegel: Any theory of punishment has to be able to make sense of how we can have a right to inflict suffering on another person. If I have willed my own punishment, consented to it, agreed to it, then even if at the time I happen not to desire it, it can be said that my autonomy and dignity remain intact. In fact, and general will theories and social contract theories try to reconcile these two things. Autonomy with state authority, including like whether the state has a right to punish or not.
Here’s an episode with something for both of us – a healthy serving of Kantian rationalism for David with a dollop of Marxist criminology for Tamler. We discuss and then argue about Jeffrie Murphy’s 1971 paper “Marxism and Retribution.” For Murphy, utilitarianism is non-starter as a theory of punishment because it can’t justify the right of the state to inflict suffering on criminals. Retributivism respects the autonomy of individuals so it can justify punishment in principle – but not in practice, at least not in a capitalist system. So it ends up offering a transcendental sanction of the status quo. We debate the merits of Murphy’s attack on Rawls and social contract theory under capitalism, along with the Marxist analysis of the roots of criminal behavior.
Plus – the headline says it all: Blame The Brain, Not Bolsonaro, For Brazil’s Riots.
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