Criminology Theory - Rational Choice Theory
Ashley Jackson
Government & Law
Criminology Theory
Rational Choice Theory
Rational choice theory was inspired in the 1700’s by a man name Cesare Beccaria, whose utilitarian views and ideas were accepted throughout Europe and the United States. This theory is also known as rational action theory meaning the framework for understanding and often formally modeling social and economic behavior. It is the dominant theoretical paradigm in microeconomics. It is also the central to modern political science and is used by scholars in other disciplines such as sociology and philosophy. Rational Choice Theory is used by social scientists to understand human behavior. This theory is the belief that man is a reasoning actor who weighs means and ends, costs and benefits, and makes a rational choice. Beccaria’s helped to eliminate cruel and unusual punishment in the nineteenth century, which at the time was very common, and formed the basis for the classical theory of crime, a school of thought that influenced the French Revolution and the establishment of the Eighth Amendment in the United States Constitution. Beccaria believed that people choose to engage in all behavior, criminal and non-criminal, and without the fear and certainty of severe punishment for criminal offenses. People will continue to choose to commit those crimes. Beccaria believed that all individuals possess free will. People use free will to make rational decisions, such as whether or not the personal benefits are worth the risk of violating the law by committing a crime. It is by free will that people are able to follow through with those “rational” decisions. To Beccaria, punishment should address prevention rather than revenge. He believed that the only way to deter criminals from continuing to commit more serious offenses is to ensure that the punishment is well suited for the crime. He believed the punishment should only be severe enough to outweigh the personal benefits gained from
Government & Law
Criminology Theory
Rational Choice Theory
Rational choice theory was inspired in the 1700’s by a man name Cesare Beccaria, whose utilitarian views and ideas were accepted throughout Europe and the United States. This theory is also known as rational action theory meaning the framework for understanding and often formally modeling social and economic behavior. It is the dominant theoretical paradigm in microeconomics. It is also the central to modern political science and is used by scholars in other disciplines such as sociology and philosophy. Rational Choice Theory is used by social scientists to understand human behavior. This theory is the belief that man is a reasoning actor who weighs means and ends, costs and benefits, and makes a rational choice. Beccaria’s helped to eliminate cruel and unusual punishment in the nineteenth century, which at the time was very common, and formed the basis for the classical theory of crime, a school of thought that influenced the French Revolution and the establishment of the Eighth Amendment in the United States Constitution. Beccaria believed that people choose to engage in all behavior, criminal and non-criminal, and without the fear and certainty of severe punishment for criminal offenses. People will continue to choose to commit those crimes. Beccaria believed that all individuals possess free will. People use free will to make rational decisions, such as whether or not the personal benefits are worth the risk of violating the law by committing a crime. It is by free will that people are able to follow through with those “rational” decisions. To Beccaria, punishment should address prevention rather than revenge. He believed that the only way to deter criminals from continuing to commit more serious offenses is to ensure that the punishment is well suited for the crime. He believed the punishment should only be severe enough to outweigh the personal benefits gained from