Punishing future crimes

Bongo

Here's an edited version of a puzzle from the book "Chuck Klosterman four" by Chuck Klosterman.

It is 1933. Somehow you find yourself in a position where you can effortlessly steal Adolf Hitler's wallet. The theft will not effect his rise to power, the nature of WW2, or the Holocaust. There is no important identification in the wallet, but the act will cost Hitler forty dollars and completely ruin his evening. You don't need the money. The odds that you will be caught committing the crime are negligible. Do you do it?

When should you punish someone for a crime they will commit in the future? Discuss.

Here's an edited version of a puzzle from the book "Chuck Klosterman four" by Chuck Klosterman.

It is 1933. Somehow you find yourself in a position where you can effortlessly steal Adolf Hitler's wallet. The theft will not effect his rise to power, the nature of WW2, or the Holocaust. There is no important identification in the wallet, but the act will cost Hitler forty dollars and completely ruin his evening. You don't need the money. The odds that you will be caught committing the crime are negligible. Do you do it?

When should you punish someone for a crime they will commit in the future? Discuss.

In a previous discussion you unconvincingly

It is seldom wise to engage in discussion that opens with indications of aggression. All my replies to your various other accusations still apply in their various context and I do not want to extend them further. I will note with respect to this context in particular that you misread my response.

but now the answer "yes" seems to require that the villain is morally irrelevant. Is there other reason for your "yes" answer that doesn't rely on Hitler's terminal moral irrelevance?

You threw 'terminal' in there gratuitously because it sounds bad. That wasn't part of the question. If the question was actually about killing Hitler I would probably actually leave him alive. That sort of drastic change is dangerous. In this world we do have a chance of surviving into the future, even if that task is difficult. I don't know what a world with Hitler killed would look like. Hitler is big as far as butterflys go. But this is just a small side point.

If you read somewhat more closely you will notice that I make an abstract point about a mistake in reasoning in labeling the scenario punishment in particular. I haven't said whether I value Hitler's experience of life positively negatively or neutrally. I can say that I value Hitler having $40 less than me having $40. So if some messed up Omega with a time machine ever offers me the chance to knock off Hitler's wallet I'm totally going to do it. You can (try to) shame me when it happens.

It is seldom wise to engage in discussion that opens with indications aggression. All my replies to your various other accusations still apply in their various context and I do not want to extend them further.

Just explaining the context for finding your current reply interesting (it is true that your statements didn't convince me, whatever their other qualities or however socially inappropriate this whole line of discussion is).

You threw 'terminal' in there gratuitously because it sounds bad.

No, I added this for specificity, because it seems to be t... (read more)

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