Punishment and Social Structure

by Georg Rusche, Otto Kirchheimer

Rusche and Kirchheimer look at crime from an historical perspective, and correlate methods of punishment with both temporal cultural values and economic conditions. The authors classify the history of crime into three primary eras: the early Middle Ages, in which penance and fines were the predominant modes of punishment; the later Middle Ages, in which harsh corporal punishment and capital punishment moved to the forefront; and the seventeenth century, in which the prison system was more fully developed. They also discuss more recent forms of penal practice, most notably under the constraints of a fascist state.

Genres: History

324 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1968

Reviews

[Moff · Rating 4 out of 5]

a fundamental work of marxist crimonology. it is especially impressive if you have in mind when and under which conditions kirchheimer and rusche wrote this. as jews in germany witnessing the rise of national socialism they wrote an unique study explaining the connection between the material conditions of social systems and their respective penal laws. to read a marxist analysis of penal law in national socialism from THAT TIME is extremely impressive.
to close with the conclusion in the book:
"The futility of severe punishment and cruel treatment may be proven a thousand times, but so long as society is unable to solve its social problems, repression, the easy way out, will always be accepted."

[Jacquie · Rating 4 out of 5]

While at times dense and exhausting, this book is filled with more information than you will ever need about the formation of and changes in the penal system across various countries. Told like a story (thank goodness), this book is one long "good to know" moment.