Society punishes impropriety more harshly than inhumanity

Evidence

The mutualistic account of punishment makes specific predictions. Indeed, to the extent that punishment is about restoring fairness, the more unfair the wrongdoing, the bigger the punishment should be. Anthropological observations have extensively shown that, in keeping with this prediction, the level of compensation in stateless societies is directly proportional to the harm done to the victim: For example, the wrongdoer owes more to the victim if he has killed a family member or eloped with a wife than if he has stolen animals or destroyed crops — Nicolas Baumard, A mutualistic approach to morality, 103 (#qualifies, via linked claim)

Further experiments indicate that second parties, whose economic payoff is reduced by the norm violation, punish the violation much more strongly than do third parties. — Ernst Fehr, Third-Party Punishment and Social Norms, 2 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Universal social inhumanity takes revenge on marriages that seemed exempt — Theodor W. Adorno, Minima Moralia: Reflections from…, 27; Moral self-sanctions and social censure deter crime more than legal penalties do; Punishment scales with the unfairness of the wrongdoing, not with deterrence needs — Nicolas Baumard, A mutualistic approach to morality: The…, 103 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Punishment scales with the unfairness of the wrongdoing, not with deterrence needs #qualifies (0.80) — Nicolas Baumard, A mutualistic approach to morality, 103
• Moral self-sanctions and social censure deter crime more than legal penalties do #qualifies (0.75)
• Directly harmed victims punish more strongly than unaffected third parties. #expands (0.75) — Ernst Fehr, Third-Party Punishment and Social Norms, 2