In general, the welfare of law-abiding citizens should be prioritized over that of criminals. But for certain crimes, I do thing short but harsh corporal punishment would be fairer and more effective than prison.

For privileged people theft is mainly an inconvenience. When my laptop got stolen I just filled out a form at work and got a replacement the next day. But for lots of people it’s more than that. If you work on cars or houses your tools are your livelihood. Getting them stolen means losing your job or replacing them at retail prices which is out of reach for lots of people. Likewise at the community college I go to some people are barely holding on. If their laptop gets stolen they either drop out or don’t pay rent that month. There are lots of people who would rather be violently assaulted than have their stuff stolen so the idea that theft is nonviolent has always seemed like a luxury belief to me.

Privileged people also tend to conceptualize theft as "theft from a corporation" as in, stealing clothes from Target or slim jims from a gas station.

The idea that their entire livelihood could be taken from them doesn't cross their mind

Theft isn't a mere nuisance, it's an attack on one of the fundamental buttresses against chaos and violence.

The cost of living in a low-trust environment is orders of magnitude greater than the value of the items stolen. Severe penalties for persistent defection against society are absolutely warranted.

>The cost of living in a low-trust environment is orders of magnitude greater than the value of the items stolen.

Absolutely!