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A comment on The Norwegian prison where inmates are treated like people. Parent comment

Re:The Norwegian prison where inmates are treated like people by conanite on Tuesday September 17, 2013 @04:02PM (#6401568)
> Punishment is a legitimate role for society; it is not juvenile.

How so? Who benefits from punishment, and what do you mean by "legitimate"? Do you consider punishment ethical?

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Re:The Norwegian prison where inmates are treated like people by JackFr on Tuesday September 17, 2013 @05:11PM (#6401989)
Well the dictionary definition of society is: the aggregate of people living together in a more or less ordered community. "More or less ordered" comes from the creation and enforcement of norms. That's how I get legitimate.

I do consider punishment ethical, from a utilitarian perspective it acts as a deterrent, and preventing men from benefiting from evil acts appeals to a human sense of justice and well ordering.

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Re:The Norwegian prison where inmates are treated like people by noselasd on Tuesday September 17, 2013 @05:02PM (#6401947)
> Who benefits from punishment ?

Society benefits, in that it is deterrent to crime and as a tool to uphold law.

But that doesn't mean that the punishment should be the highest priority for imprisonment.

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