Rational Choice Theory Essay

767 Words2 Pages

Rational choice theory, however states that the framework for understanding and often formally modeling social and economic behavior. It also, depends on the personal choice of all human being to be involved in weird behavior, based on the punishment of the act. The theory is dependent upon many factors that affect the person’s consciousness. Taking advantage of these theories, capital punishment should provide the most effective deterrent to murder.
The rational choice theory relies on the idea that people are rational players. By this I mean that they have to deliberate the consequence that will come as a result of their choice they make for their action. Most people will choose the action that will result in enormous consequences to please other and also, to pleasure themselves. To control this action, society forces punishment on those actions that people choose to do for breaking the law. The states are responsible for these laws and only by using immediate, certain, and severe punishment can these laws be a deterrent. In concern to the death penalty, when assessing the action of an individual it must outweighs the penalty of long term imprisonment. If the death penalty is applied per the rational choice theory, this would be a significant deterrent. Unfortunately, the death penalty is not viewed as immediate, intense or definite, which disagree with the rational choice theory completely. Under our current justice system, the death penalty is not a promised punishment due to brilliant lawyers and inexperienced juries. Furthermore, it is far from rapid as most prisoners sit on death row for decades before the sentence is imposed. As a result this punishment it is not viewed as severe because the delays in time and rarity of oc...

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...nt were paramount in the decisions of criminals. These theories used the city of Chicago to explain how the urban environment affected the crime committed there.
Conflict theory states that for society to function, each individual and group must strive to maximize their benefit from society. Conflict theory has four primary assumptions. Competition is at the heart of all social relationships. People may compete over scarce resources, other people, work availability or other societal constructs. Within any society, there exists inequality. Since inequality naturally benefits one part of society, those people will fight to see that it is maintained. If those in the bottom rungs of the system see the status quo as a threat to their equality, revolution will naturally occur. They will fight, up to the point of war, to change the system and try to right the inequalities.

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