Supernatural policing may solve the infinite regress of punishing punishers

Evidence

But in the absence of modern, reliable policing institutions, who will punish those who fail to punish? It is easy to see how this leads to an infinite regress problem. How did human societies find effective (though far from failsafe) punishment mechanisms before the emergence of effective modern institutions such as police and courts? Was belief in supernatural policing an early social tool that provided a solution? — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 36

Categorization

• XREF: Directly states the omniscient-observer hypothesis (Norenzayan’s Big God mechanism) the reader is testing: high-order punishment resolves the regress where finite watchmen fail.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 36