The concept of retribution means, roughly, that people ought to get what they deserve. Underlying this desert principle are two standard expectations: (a) the reward or punishment should be in proportion to what one deserves; and (b) it should be meted out impartially. To be treated fairly and equally, one should be given one’s due. The principle of fairness relies on the idea of desert, which is a key idea in contemporary liberal theory of justice. The concept of retribution is a corollary to all this, making it a cluster concept, with several important facets that are internally linked.
“Desert” implies elimination of the luck factor in retribution. If one is to be rewarded or punished, then one should truly deserve it and not receive it as a result of factors that are unearned (such as family ties or causes not under one’s control) and/or factors that have no moral or practical bearing on the issue. Accordingly, just as one should not be rewarded unduly, one should not be punished...
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Chatterjee, D.K. (2011). Retribution. In: Chatterjee, D.K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Global Justice. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-9160-5_58
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