Opening page…
Does anyone deserve to suffer?
Imagine that punishing someone guilty would deter nobody, protect nobody and change nothing. Many people still feel it should happen.
Your answer
A little context
A con man who emptied a pensioner's savings walks out of court with a suspended sentence, and you feel cheated on her behalf. The money is gone either way, and he's unlikely to try it again, so prison would protect no one. You still want him to pay, and not in money.
Nearby questions
- Are people basically good?Mencius said anyone who saw a child about to fall into a well would feel a jolt of alarm. Xunzi answered that people are born selfish and only learn to be good. Answer from what you've seen people do when nobody was making them.
- Born on the other sideWhat gives you a stronger claim to a safe, prosperous country than someone born just across its border?
- Is it ever right to break the law?Rosa Parks broke a law and is remembered as a hero. Plenty of people who break laws believe they are right too.
- Write the rules, then be bornYou must design society before finding out whether you will be rich or poor, healthy or ill, powerful or ignored. Which rules would you refuse to leave to luck?
- Should any speech be banned?Free speech is easy to defend for words you like. Any line you draw will one day be enforced by people who disagree with you.
