retributivism

“If we stop being embarrassed about retributivism,” Kleiman says, “we could then try to make it proportionate.”

At the press conference that follows, the commissioner stands before the media with drugs and money in front of him and declares in the language of classic expressive retributivism:

To avoid these perceived moral failings of utilitarianism, retributivism envisions the state as a neutral and dispassionate actor who imposes punishment only as a moral imperative of society.

“This is a country largely focused on retributivism as a basis for punishment,” she continued.