punishment (was: Student Loans & Bankruptcies (was Re: creativefinancing)

[Yoshie Furuhashi]

At 11:58 PM -0400 4/25/01, Kelley Walker wrote:
>>I'm not sure how to develop this point, but it seems to me that at the
>>present time the principle need (of the ruling class) that criminal
>>justice serves is the need to have the population feel a need for the
>>criminal justice system.
>>
>>About 25 years ago I thoroughly convinced a bright young woman in one of
>>my classes that rigorous welfare standards had the effect of lowering
>>wages all through the system -- including hers. (The point to be made
>>does not depend on the accuracy of this proposition, for she accepted
>>it.) She also accepted that "catching cheats" would probably involve
>>setting standards high enough that many legitimate claims would be
>>denied (with a consquent lowering of benefits on the whole). Hence,
>>"catching cheats" was not in _her_ interest. Her final conclusion:
>>People shouldn't be allowed to get away with cheating.
>>
>>Retributive justice (or, more accurately, a public belief in retributive
>>justice) corrupts the public realm. It is a major barrier to
>>working-class unity and intertwines importantly with racism. It is
>>better that a thousand disabled people receive no benefits than that one
>>fake should receive any. Et cetera. You have to watch "those people."
>>
>>Carrol
>
>right. this is why you are so punitive wrt anyone who uses the term 
>middle class.

Disagreement -- even disapproval -- is not the same as punishment.  I 
think that you, Wojtek, & David Horowitz conflate the former with the 
latter.

Yoshie