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On Crime And Punishment By Beccaria

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Why do people commit crimes? The answer to that question reflects the complexity of human beings. Multiple theories have been devised with the intention of untangling the sophisticated nature of criminal mind. Beccaria (1764) in his “On Crime and Punishments” essay argues that as a result of our egoistic nature “no man ever freely sacrificed a portion of his personal liberty merely in behalf of the common good” (p. 277). This is where we find the foundations of the Rational Choice Perspective that concerns itself with the offender’s decision-making process. However, the scope of crime and the intentions of the criminal mind behind it, keep evolving continuously. Therefore, the principles underlying this theory will be tested to see if it can

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