NCJ Number
58268
Journal
British Journal of Law and Society Volume: 5 Issue: 1 Dated: (SUMMER 1978) Pages: 103-114
Date Published
1978
Length
12 pages
Annotation
THE NATURE OF GOVERNMENTAL RESPONSE TO CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR HAS CHANGED MARKEDLY OVER HISTORY, AND VARIES WIDELY ACROSS SOCIETIES TODAY.
Abstract
ONE OF THE MOST FAMILIAR SOCIAL THEORISTS IS DURKHEIM WHO WROTE 'THE DIVISION OF LABOR IN SOCIETY' AND IN IT EXPLAINED HIS 'TWO LAWS OF PENAL EVOLUTION.' THE FIRST LAW EXPLAINS THAT AS SOCIETY EVOLVES FROM A SIMPLE UNDIFFERENTIATED FORM TO A COMPLEX ONE, THE NATURE OF ITS COLLECTIVE VALUES ALSO UNDERGOES A TRANSFORMATION. IN SIMPLE SOCIETIES, COLLECTIVE VALUES ARE INDIFFERENTIATED AND PENAL CODES ARE REPRESSIVE; AS SOCIETY EVOLVES, THE SANCTIONS BECOME LESS REPRESSIVE. SECONDLY, HE CONTENDS THAT DEPRIVATION OF FREEDOM BECOMES THE DOMINANT SANCTION IN COMPLEX SOCIETIES. MANY STUDIES SUBSEQUENTLY HAVE CAST DOUBT ON DURKHEIM'S THEORY. RESEARCHERS SUCH AS SOROKIN DISCOVERED THAT HOMOGENEOUS SOCIETIES TENDED TO BE LENIENT, WHEREAS SOCIETIES IN WHICH THERE WAS A VALUE CONFLICT TENDED TO HAVE MORE INTENSE PUNITIVE MEASURES. FINDINGS HAVE CAST DOUBT ON DURKHEIM'S SECOND LAW OF PENAL EVOLUTION, THE PROPOSITION THAT DEPRIVATION OF LIBERTY TENDS TO BECOME THE DOMINANT MODE OF PENAL SANCTION IN COMPLEX SOCIETIES. THE TREND TOWARD NON-CUSTODIAL PENAL SANCTIONS IN THIS CENTURY, BELIES THIS THEORY. THE THEORY PROPOSED BY SOROKIN IS SUPPORTED BY THE RESEARCH OF SPITZER WHO FOUND THAT THE CULTURES WITH GREATER DISPARITIES IN WEALTH AND SOCIAL RANK WERE THE MOST PUNITIVE. NEOMARXISTS SUCH AS RUSCHE AND KIRCHHEIMER THEORIZE THAT PENAL SYSTEMS REFLECT THE ECONOMIC IMPERATIVES OF THE POLITICAL SYSTEM. THEIR ARGUMENTS ARE THE SAME AS SOROKIN'S, THAT THERE IS AN INVERSE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ECONOMIC CONDITIONS AND PENAL SEVERITY. IN ORDER TO TEST THESE THEORIES EMPIRICALLY MORE DEVELOPMENTS IN CONCEPTUALIZATION AND MEASUREMENT ARE NEEDED. FACTORS THAT MUST BE TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION ARE THE PROBLEMS OF HISTORICAL AND CROSS-SOCIETAL EQUIVALENCE. AN INNOVATIVE MEASUREMENT SYSTEM IS NECESSARY TO COMPENSATE FOR THESE FACTORS TO MAKE THE SUBJECTIVE ELEMENTS OF PENAL SEVERITY SUSCEPTIBLE TO MACRO-SOCIAL ANALYSIS. FOOTNOTES ARE INCLUDED. (STB)