David Boonin The Problem Of Punishment Summary

In “The Problem of Punishment,” David Boonin argues that there is no good justification for punishment. He uses the term “punishment” in place of “legal punishment.” According to Boonin (2008), punishment is “authorized reprobative retributive intentional harm” (p. 23). Punishment has to entail intentional harm, which intentionally makes the offender “worse off than she otherwise would be” (Boonin, 2008, p. 7). Also, punishment must be imposed by an authorized agent of the state in order to be legal. It must be reprobative and retributive, because it is necessary to express disapproval toward the illegal offense while only harming the person or people who committed it. It does not qualify as punishment if the punishment inflicted upon an offender