Reward and Punishment
There are many ways in which people in the United States are rewarded, punished, or good or bad is distributed. Distinctively, the nation utilizes the theory of retributivist to necessitate punishment, reward, or distribute good or bad. Foremost, offenders are punished through imprisonment with some states subjecting murderer to death penalties. In this way, the form of punishment is supported by the theory of retributivist asserting that justice is served when offenders are punished for their crimes. Significantly, people are rewarded based on the outcomes they produce regardless of the efforts or time they put and used respectively. According to the theory of retributivist, people are rewarded strictly based on merit (Vidya, O’Connor, and Roberts 309). Besides, good or bad is distributed equitably based on the need or what people deserve in the form of reward or punishment.
To a large extent, the purpose of punishment is to protect the society and its members. According to the theory of retributivist, crime demands punishment to achieve the balance sustained by established rules (Harrison and Wicks 105). As such, breaching the rules is akin to causing an imbalance, and must be corrected through punishment. To a moderate degree, the purpose of punishment is to incapacitate criminals by withdrawing them from the society to prevent future crimes. Based on the theory of retributivist, crimes committed by offenders need to be punished depending on the gravity of the offense. For that matter, criminals are punished through house arrests, incarceration and death penalties, among other methods. To a low extent, punishment aims to rehabilitate criminals by transforming their behavior. Rehabilitation concurs with the views of retributivists who believe that offenses should be punished to force behavior change (Harrison and Wicks 114). Rehabilitation through vocational programs and counseling protects the society and lowers the likelihood of criminals reoffending.
Works Cited
Harrison, Jeffrey, and Andrew, Wicks. “Stakeholder Theory, Value, and Firm Performance.” Business Ethics Quarterly, vol. 23, no. 1, 2013, pp. 97–124.
Vidya, Athota, Peter, O’Connor, and Richard, Roberts. “To Punish First and Reward Second: Values Determine How Reward and Punishment Affect Risk-Taking Behavior.” The American Journal of Psychology, vol. 130, no. 3, 2017, pp. 303–313.