"Crime and Punishment: Adam Smith's Theory of Sentimental Law and Econo" by Maria Pia Paganelli and F. Simon
 

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

4-19-2022

Abstract

For Adam Smith, a crime is not the result of a rational calculation of loss and gain but the consequence of envy and a vain desire to parade wealth to attract the approbation of others, combined with a natural systematic bias in overestimating the probability of success. Similarly, Smith does not conceive of legal sanctions as a rational deterrent but as deriving from the feeling of resentment. While the prevailing approach of the eighteenth century is a rational explanation of crime and a utilitarian use of punishment, Adam Smith instead builds his theory of criminal behavior and legal prosecution consistently on the sentiments. A well-functioning legal system is thus an unintended consequence of our desire to bring justice to the individual person, not the result of a rational calculation to promote the public good, just like a well-functioning economic system is the unintended consequence of our desire to better our own condition, not the result of a rational calculation to promote public good.

DOI

10.1017/S1053837220000437

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

Publication Information

Journal of the History of Economic Thought

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