 Bertrand Russell Quotes 366 |
I do not know how to prove that vindictive punishment is a bad thing. There are, however, two kinds of argument which can be brought. One is that the whole conception of sin is mistaken, as I have argued in a previous chapter. The other is an argument from prudence. Versailles and its aftermath led to the Nazis and the Second World War. I think one may lay it down that in the great majority of cases vindictive punishment does not have the effects which are hoped for by those who inflict it, but diminishes the total of satisfaction of desire, not only in those who are punished, but also in those who punish.
Source: Bertrand Russell: Human Society in Ethics and Politics, (1954), chapter 10：Is there ethical knowledge ?
More info.: https://russell-j.com/cool/47T-1012.htm
* a brief comment (Translated with DeepL.com)
Crime must be punished. However, if the punishment (penalty) is excessive, it can be counterproductive. Germany had to be punished for causing the First World War. However, the reparations imposed on Germany as punishment were astronomical at the time (note: the yen is now weak, so at today's exchange rate it would be more than 300 trillion yen) and could not be paid in full. If it was a sum that could be paid, the German people would have had to accept it as something they had brought upon themselves, but if it was a sum that they could not pay even if they continued to pay for the rest of their lives, it was human nature to think, ‘One day I will get even with them’. In this way, it became one of the main causes of the Second World War. It is in retrospect that Japan was not overcharged after the Second World War. It does not seem that the Americans were particularly humane or compassionate. This was proven during the Vietnam War. Translated with DeepL.com (free version)