Punishment, Compensation, and Law
A Theory of Enforceability

An explanation of how we use punishment and compensation to make restraints operative in the world.

Mark R. Reiff (Author)

9780521174237, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 3 March 2011

274 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.6 cm, 0.41 kg

Review of the hardback: 'Reiff's book is as ambitious as it is important [and] as much a contribution to moral and political philosophy as to the philosophy of law.' Michael Davis, Ethics

This book is the first comprehensive study of the meaning and measure of enforceability. While we have long debated what restraints should govern the conduct of our social life, we have paid relatively little attention to the question of what it means to make a restraint enforceable. Focusing on the enforceability of legal rights but also addressing the enforceability of moral rights and social conventions, Mark Reiff explains how we use punishment and compensation to make restraints operative in the world. After describing the various means by which restraints may be enforced, Reiff explains how the sufficiency of enforcement can be measured, and he presents a unified theory of deterrence, retribution, and compensation that shows how these aspects of enforceability are interconnected. Reiff then applies his theory of enforceability to illuminate a variety of real-world problem situations.

1. The means of enforcement
2. The goals of enforcement
3. Measuring enforceability in the pre-violation state of affairs
4. Measuring enforceability in the post-violation state of affairs
5. The relationship between pre-violation expectations and post-violation practice
6. Limitations on the means of enforcement
7. Special problems with legal remedies
8. The value of nominal rights.

Subject Areas: Law [L], Political science & theory [JPA], Penology & punishment [JKVP], Social & political philosophy [HPS]