Crime & Punishment

Where does Caleb stand on thought crime?

If they even exist, and I would argue they don't (and can't) in a free society, they absolutely cannot be punishable by the state or via corporal sanctions and must exclusively be responded to by, essentially, by pscyhological/social pressures (as churches generally provide). This was the position largely shared by Machiavelli and Thomas Jefferson, as far as I can tell, and while it's more nuanced than most positions on the subject it's not that hard to understand.

I recently heard a quote by Jefferson to just this subject, to the effect that a laws being considered and the Constitutional plans for the very frame work of law and order was intended to deal strictly with actions, never thoughts. As I was driving and the attribution was careless and incomplete, I have had to try to dig out the citation for myself (so far without success). And of course Orwell shared Jefferson's horror at the power tyrants can wield through the criminalizing of speech or thought. Thanks Caleb.

I think I know the quote you're talking about. It was a real eye-opener--or lightbulb 'on' switch--for me since I was re-reading Machiavelli at the time and came across some truly stunning parallels between their positions.

My meme above pertains not to punishing thoughts, but to punishing actions that are premeditated to a meaningful degree. Look at the difference between sentences for manslaughter vs. murder and you can see the point is unassailable.

And I wrestle with this issue on a regular basis: whether or not we *should* punish someone more or less harshly based on intentions. So I'm not completely sold on which way is 'right' on this one, but the purpose of the meme was to reflect how it seems society prioritizes such things. I wrote an article about vaccines and the consequences/phenomenon of anti-vaxxers on my website; link is below. Thanks for the welcome :-)

http://www.calebwachter.com/blog/2017/07/30/vaccines-discrimination-and-safety-nets