This blog post analyzes the influence of Beccaria’s theory of punishment on modern criminal law. We examine his theory of preventive punishment and the importance of protecting human rights.
Cesare Beccaria’s ‘Crimes and Punishments’, published in 1764, caused a great stir. European intellectual society was captivated by its logical and novel arguments concerning punishment. At the time, European society had not yet escaped medieval penal practices, routinely employing cruel and harsh punishments, which had become a significant social problem.
Beccaria’s emergence drew considerable attention by proposing solutions to these problems. He faithfully aligned with the Enlightenment ideology of his time, which posited rational humans pursuing freedom and happiness. Beccaria fundamentally viewed humans as beings capable of weighing benefits and acting accordingly. People do not surrender their freedom for the public good without compensation.
They agreed to cede a portion of their freedom to escape a state akin to perpetual war, thereby securing the peaceful enjoyment of the remainder. The aggregate of the freedom each individual relinquishes constitutes sovereignty, which the sovereign then administers. Consequently, laws—the conditions for society’s formation and continuity—are best upheld when they enhance individual happiness. Punishment, established for the collective welfare, is imposed upon those who violate the law. With this argument, Beccaria established the starting point that the exercise of punitive power cannot exceed the scope of the transfer.
In Beccaria’s view, punishment cannot undo the consequences caused by the crime. Nor is tormenting the offender its purpose. The sole purpose of punishment is to deter the offender from causing further harm and to prevent others from committing similar acts. This is achieved if the harm inflicted by punishment is even slightly greater than the gain from the crime—that is, the loss incurred by the public good. Moreover, the punishment system must be clearly codified in written law so that this cost-benefit relationship is known to all, and its enforcement must be certain. Ultimately, punishment is viewed as a barrier against crime. The height of this barrier must vary depending on whether the crime is murder or theft. It must be proportional to the degree of harm inflicted upon the public good. Punishment exceeding this is tyranny and unnecessary. Beccaria states: If the same punishment is applied to two crimes causing different harms, would the deterrent effect for the more serious crime not be lost?
He emphasizes that institutions must operate in accordance with the fact that humans are beings of sensation. Even the most brutal punishment, if continually enforced, will eventually desensitize society at large. Ultimately, witnessing such punishment will evoke no more than the fear of imprisonment itself. What profoundly affects the human mind is not the intensity of punishment but its duration. Witnessing a death is a terrifying experience, yet its memory is fleeting. The argument is that enduring the sight of a deprived individual suffering penance for a long time possesses a far more potent deterrent effect. He also states that the freedom sacrificed to protect something more important cannot include life itself, the most precious thing of all. Thus, Beccaria is understood as a humanist opposing cruel punishments, a utilitarian advocating the greatest happiness for the greatest number, and a social contract theorist who develops his arguments based on the consensus among free individuals.
In criminal jurisprudence, he is also credited with laying the foundation for moving beyond retributivism—the idea of punishment as recompense—toward general preventionism, which aims to prevent future crimes. Beccaria’s arguments significantly influenced modern criminal law systems, forming the basis for various reform movements emphasizing human rights protection and the humanization of punishment. His ideas remain relevant today and continue to contribute to the development of criminal justice systems. Examining how his ideas are concretely applied provides crucial guidance for understanding the role of punishment in contemporary society.
