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PUNISHMENT JUSTIFIABLE AS A QUASI-TAX

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 July 2015

David Gilboa
David Gilboa*
Affiliation:
Department of Philosophy, UW Oshkosh, 800 Algoma Blvd., Oshkosh, WI 54901, USA. Email: gilboa@uwosh.edu.
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Abstract:

I argue that, since the legal order is a public good, an act of legal punishment may be viewed as the imposition of a kind of tax, which I label ‘a quasi-tax’. Once punishment is viewed as a quasi-tax, the traditionally opposed approaches to punishment may be reconciled, as both utility and retribution jointly justify an act of legal punishment. I discuss objections to my argument and I reply to them.

Keywords

Punishmentpublic goodsquasi-taxutilityretribution
Type
Articles
Information
Economics & Philosophy , Volume 31 , Issue 3 , November 2015 , pp. 431 - 445
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

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