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Should we feel good or bad about feeling good about how bad Madoff got punished?

By Douglas A. Berman

A helpful reader sent along this intriguing little piece discussing the virtues and vices of human instincts for imposing "altruistic punishment."  The piece is titled "Are humans cruel to be kind?" and here is a snippet:  Our sense of fairness and our willingness to inflict damage on one another combine to encourage contributions to the common good and deter people from cheating.  Researchers call this altruistic punishment.  "But at the end of the day, it's still spite," says economist Benedikt Herrmann of the University of Nottingham, UK.  The benefits of this constructive spite might not be immediate, but they are real -- in the long run, we all benefit more if we can ensure others in society toe the line. Our brains are certainly wired to respond positively to this constructive form of spite...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on July 06, 2009 (boomark / email).