I have a better idea regarding punishing irresponsible behavior in society's member. And this idea is not about criminal behavior, but dangerously irresponsible. What do I qualify as dangerously irresponsible?
1) Druken Driving (and drugged, etc..)
2) Any overly dangerous driving habits (like 80 kmh in a residential area, 200 kmh on highways, road-rage)
3) Hit and Run
What don't qualify as irresponsible behavior, but rather as criminal behavior is theft, assault, rape, etc... those should be dealt in other ways than my idea.
Irresponsible behavior is not born out of the desire to do harm, but merely on the lack of forethoughts for their fellow human beings (and themselves). They aren't bad people, they just act stupid. When a children do something wrong (usually because he hasn't thought it through), you have to punish him. A good way of upbringing your children should encompass various methods of punishing/rewarding. Punishment can be qualified into those three categories: taking away his toys (fine), grounding him (restrain), or spanking (corporal punishment). You might think of others, and you are welcomed to include them if they are relevant to the current situation.
Now, the situation we are talking about isn't like punishing a kid because he have done something downright evil (it's not retribution), but because you want him to stop doing so for his own good (and other people's). See of it as "educational" punishment. You want the peoples who acts irresponsibly to think about it twice the next time they have the opportunity to do such wrong.
The current punishments are usually either jail or fine (or driving license suspension). But as talked in this topic, it's not always fair. A 400$ fine to man A might be completely devastating to his budget, while man B while shrug it away without a second thought.
Taking away the driving licence then might seems to be the best action. I am not so sure. Some people can do away without their car just fine, but others absolutely rely on it for various reasons (profession and social). One person can actually loose his job because having his driving license taken away (delivery man, taxi driver, or just far suburb resident), while the other one can simply take urban transit system. It's not fair.
Jail time. Now, the USA seems to have noticed that Jail time isn't the solution to all problem. It's costly to everybody, the recidivist rate is horrible, and people seems to get out of it worse than they came in. ESPECIALLY if the offense wasn't a criminally-minded one. The man acted stupid, and he will get in jail near the actual criminals because of it. Do you think that will make him a better man?
Also, jailing is very bad for the family of the punished man. A jailed man's family loose one income. The kids are away from their father.
What remains? Corporal punishment. (I am thinking of the Whip). Many people will think of it as barbarian and cruel, but think of it for a second:
1- Everybody feels it equally. A rich man or poor. A white or black. A man or woman. Old man or a youth.
2- It's instantly. If you have a doctor standing by the whole time the punishment is administred (and first aid is immediatly administred right after - but not for the pain), he can make sure that there won't be lasting injuries that will impede the punishee for the rest of his life.
3- You don't impede his capacity to work as a productive member of the society. You don't even fine him, you don't take away his driving license, you keep the whole sentencing/punishing secret. Only the offender and the justice system will know, and that's ennough.
Please note, corporal punishment as kids is often frown upon because... Well, because many parents abuse it. It's the "easy" solution in their stupid mind, and many of them only use it to enforce a sentiment of superiority over their kinds. Which is why it can get out of hand. But a good parent will never completely dismiss the option. When it comes to the situation of having the governement doing it, we have to be careful about remembering: It's not exacting retribution on the man that commited the fault. It's about making him remember never to do it again.
Do you think the man will remember his lashing the next time he is about to get into his car while drunk? You haven't broken his life into pieces. You haven't destroyed his budget. His family will still have the father/mother. And you might have made him a more councious citizen about his fellow beings. The only damage you done to him was temporary damage to his body.
I'd say, it's less cruel than potentially destroy a man's life, wallet (or anus).
