The Liberal State and Criminal Sanction by Jacobs, Jonathan A.;

Seeking Justice and Civility

GET 10% OFF
The discount is only available for 'Alert of Favourite Topics' newsletter recipients.

Publisher's listprice GBP 77.00
The price is estimated because at the time of ordering we do not know what conversion rates will apply to HUF / product currency when the book arrives. In case HUF is weaker, the price increases slightly, in case HUF is stronger, the price goes lower slightly.

38 969 Ft (37 114 Ft + 5% VAT)
Discount 10% (cc. 3 897 Ft off)
Discounted price 35 073 Ft (33 403 Ft + 5% VAT)

38 969 Ft

Availability

Estimated delivery time: In stock at the publisher, but not at Prospero's office. Delivery time approx. 3-5 weeks.
Not in stock at Prospero.

Product details:

Publisher OUP USA
Date of Publication 17 September 2020

ISBN 9780190863623
Binding Hardback
No. of pages278 pages
Size 160x241x20 mm
Weight 454 g
Language English

Short description:

Jonathan Jacobs examines the injustice of incarceration in the U.S. and U.K., both during incarceration and upon release into civil society. Situated at the intersection of criminology and political philosophy, Jacobs's focus is on moral reasoning, and he argues that the current state of incarceration is antithetical to the project of liberal democracy, as it strips incarcerated people of their agency. He advocates for reforms through a renewed commitment to the values and principles of liberal democracy and proposes a retributivist conception of sanction to reform the criminal justice system and emphasizes the importance of proportionality.

Long description:

In a liberal democracy, theory suggests that the political order and character of a civil society are closely connected: the political order allows for a dynamic and pluralistic civil society, and people's civic participation encourages support for the political order.

In examining the role of punishment in the U.S. and the U.K., however, Jonathan Jacobs maintains that the current state of incarceration is antithetical to the principles of a liberal democracy and betrays an abandonment of that project's essential values. The existing system imposes harsh injustices on incarcerated people: it subjects them to inhumane prison conditions, creates numerous obstacles that block their reentry into society upon release, and erodes their capacity to participate in civic life and exercise individual moral agency. And in recent decades, the number of its people that the U.S. has incarcerated has grown dramatically.

Jacobs engages with substantial philosophical literature to argue that necessary and significant reforms to the U.S. and U.K. criminal justice systems demand a serious recommitment to the values and principles of a liberal democracy. Topics include the justification and aims of punishment, the role of criminal justice within theories of a just society, and empirical considerations regarding long-term incarceration and its impact. By comprehensively exploring the relationship between criminal justice and justice, he highlights distinctive elements of criminal justice as the basis for a retributivist conception of punishment that highlights desert and proportionality. Jacobs defends retributivism against familiar accusations that it approves vindictiveness and inevitably harms offenders, and shows how consequentialist approaches are seriously flawed. Drawing equally from both philosophy and criminology, Jacobs argues for a renewed dedication to the values and principles of a liberal democracy as critical to the possibility of criminal justice being truly just.

Preface
Introduction
Chapter 1: The Political Order
1.1 The Liberal Polity
1.2 Civil Society
1.3 Civil Society and Moral Education
1.4 The Rule of Law and Morality
1.5 Liberalism and Civility
Chapter 2: Criminal Justice and Justice Overall Part I
2.1 Equality and Egalitarianism
2.2 Contexts, Liberty, and Egalitarianism
2.3 Criminal Justice, Distributive Justice, and the Liberal State
2.4 Criminal Justice, Distributive Justice, and Civility
Chapter 3: Criminal Justice and Justice Overall Part II
3.1 Some Contextual Factors
3.2 To Which Values Should Criminal Justice Respond?
3.3 The Dispute Over Desert
3.4 Desert and Agency
Chapter 4: Retributivism and Resentment
4.1 Reasons to Reclaim Retributivism
4.2 Concerns about Consequentialism
4.3 A Role for Resentment
4.4 What is Being Communicated by Criminal Conviction?
Chapter 5: Deficits of Justice and Civility
5.1 The Harm Being Done
5.2 Some Important Aspects of Prison Culture
Chapter 6: Retributive Sanction
6.1 Some Misconceptions about Retributivism
6.2 Distinguishing Diverse Retributivist Approaches
6.3 Communication and Proportionality
6.4 Better Outcomes Without Consequentialism
Conclusion