Definitely true tho that as society gets larger it is better able to absorb the costs of reducing arbitrariness in its justice system, and reducing cruelty in its penal system.
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Even the idea of punishment as improvement of the punished isn't that new - some of my favorite Benjamin Rush diatribes are ones where he's demanding that the new American states adopt less inhumane systems which transform the punished into better citizens in the name of republicanism.
sep 1, 2025, 4:17 am • 6 0 • view
Wasn't that long ago that workhouses were a big thing
sep 1, 2025, 4:19 am • 5 0 • view
And unfortunately for us, the workhouse model still has more influence than it should in the way we structure our post-conviction penal system and the way it disposes of and conceives of inmate time and 'improvement' value.
sep 1, 2025, 4:22 am • 5 0 • view