Author Archive

Cesare Beccaria

Cesare Beccaria was an Italian Enlightenment jurist and philosopher whose work shaped modern criminology and penal reform. His principal work, Dei delitti e delle pene (On Crimes and Punishments, 1764), argued against torture and capital punishment and for proportionate, deterrence-based punishment and fair legal procedure. His ideas influenced criminal-law reform in Europe and North America and remain foundational to classical criminology.

3 summaries in the archive

Economics Elements of Public Economy (Elementi di economia pubblica) – Cesare Beccaria Cesare Beccaria

Beccaria's systematic treatise on public economy treats population, agriculture, commerce, money, and taxation as an interconnected science of…

7 min read

Aesthetics Ricerche intorno alla natura dello stile – Cesare Beccaria Cesare Beccaria

Beccaria's Enlightenment treatise examines why style moves the mind through the association and ordering of ideas.

5 min read

Political Science On Crimes and Punishments (Dei delitti e delle pene) – Cesare Beccaria Cesare Beccaria

Beccaria's treatise argues that punishment is justified only by necessity, measuring the penal system against reason and the…

26 min read