NCJ Number
143932
Journal
Deviance et societe Volume: 17 Issue: 2 Dated: (Trim./June 1993) Pages: 105-115
Date Published
1993
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This theoretical article analyzes the individual's psychological relationships to the law, crime, and punishment in the kind of lawful society Sigmund Freud described in his social writings.
Abstract
In this kind of society, which is based on a social contract, those who enact the laws are equals. Thus, the only cause of crime can be personal egotism. However, such an ideal society does not exist; in real societies inequalities frequently arise, and crime becomes a rational and justifiable way in which underprivileged groups of the population rebel against the community. By the same token, punishment can become the instrument through which the broken contract is repaired; or it can become a way in which society rationalizes and expresses undefined aggressions against the offender. In this context, the article stresses the significance of punishment as a "representing activity" as described by Foucault and Christie because it allows both the offender and the offended society to work through their aggressions.