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Book Synopsis
Why, when we have been largely socialized into good behavior, are there more laws that govern our behavior than ever before?

Levels of violent crime have been in a steady decline for centuries--for millennia, even. Over the past five hundred years, homicide rates have decreased a hundred-fold. We live in a time that is more orderly and peaceful than ever before in human history. Why, then, does fear of crime dominate modern politics? Why, when we have been largely socialized into good behavior, are there more laws that govern our behavior than ever before? In Command and Persuade, Peter Baldwin examines the evolution of the state's role in crime and punishment over three thousand years.
 
Baldwin explains that the involvement of the state in law enforcement and crime prevention is relatively recent. In ancient Greece, those struck by lightning were assumed to have been punished by Zeus. In the Hebrew Bible, God was judge, jury, and prosecutor when Cain k

Command and Persuade Crime Law and the State

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    A Paperback / softback by Peter Baldwin

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      Publisher: MIT Press Ltd
      Publication Date: Publication Date: 02/05/2023
      ISBN13: 9780262546027, 978-0262546027
      ISBN10: 0262546027
      Also in:
      Laws of specific jurisdictions and specific areas of law

      Description

      Book Synopsis
      Why, when we have been largely socialized into good behavior, are there more laws that govern our behavior than ever before?

      Levels of violent crime have been in a steady decline for centuries--for millennia, even. Over the past five hundred years, homicide rates have decreased a hundred-fold. We live in a time that is more orderly and peaceful than ever before in human history. Why, then, does fear of crime dominate modern politics? Why, when we have been largely socialized into good behavior, are there more laws that govern our behavior than ever before? In Command and Persuade, Peter Baldwin examines the evolution of the state's role in crime and punishment over three thousand years.
       
      Baldwin explains that the involvement of the state in law enforcement and crime prevention is relatively recent. In ancient Greece, those struck by lightning were assumed to have been punished by Zeus. In the Hebrew Bible, God was judge, jury, and prosecutor when Cain k

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