Why punishing or helping is not a right-versus-left story

Harsh punishment belongs to the right, a softer approach to the left, people thought. When Peter Mascini investigated how people really think about crime and punishment, that picture fell apart. He discovered that put the classic distinction between ‘punish or help’ on shaky ground.

The surprise

“Whoever is right-wing or conservative believes in punishment, and whoever is left-wing or progressive believes in rehabilitation. That was a truism in classical sociological theory. But about ten years ago a small group of second-year students discovered that people who thought addicts should be punished were not always opposed to resocialisation. They did see that people who are conservative more often emphasise punishment, but that did not mean they were against provision of help. Those findings did not fit the theory, so I wanted to know more about it.”

The research

“I delved into the literature. And indeed, in empirical studies I found the same pattern: there was hardly a strong negative relationship between the two views, and political background mattered less than is often assumed in sociological theory. That raised the question: what, then, is the progressive counterpart to repression? Together with colleague Dick Houtman I set out to find a better answer.

“To find out, we decided to carry out a larger public survey using a sample of the Dutch population. We presented participants with a range of statements about the best ways to tackle crime.”

The eureka moment

“When the answers came in, I started analysing. First go through that large dataset, check the variables, look again to see if everything is properly coded. In quantitative research you really have that moment of truth. You have worked out the theory, collected the data, formulated the hypotheses. And then you click, and you see the result appear. Often it is disappointing; you have done something wrong with the variables. But this time it was exactly right. That was a euphoric moment.

“We found that both repression and resocialisation start from the same premise, namely that rule‑breaking behaviour is deviant, and that society therefore has to intervene to correct it. That can be done either through punishment or through rehabilitation. In both cases there is social control: maintaining or restoring social order.

“That solved the puzzle: not resocialisation, but decriminalisation is the progressive counterpart to repression. The real divide is not between punishing and helping, but between controlling and letting go. That was really an aha moment for me.”

The aftermath

“Our finding led to a methodological debate that still continues about how to measure attitudes towards punishment and resocialisation. The research also spread internationally. In the United States studies looked at how the American public thinks about crime control. Even more than in the Netherlands, public opinion there is often seen as a split between Republicans who want to punish harshly and Democrats who favour help. But there too it turned out they need not exclude each other. As a result, the debate about crime and punishment could be less ideological, less along political lines, and more pragmatic.”