Liberal Criminology. Notes on the Classical School and the pre-scientific period of Criminology

Abstract

There are many currents composing the field of criminological analyses that influence – whether directly or indirectly – criminal policy and the workings of criminal justice. The aim of this work is to critically analyze the emergence, principles, and practices linked to Liberal Criminology, also known as the Classical or pre-scientific School of Criminology. A theoretical study, it is based on bibliographical research into the subject in different electronic databases and physical archives in Brazil and Italy. Guided by the concept of the humanization of punishment, the aforementioned criminological school was founded on two of the field of law’s theoretical pillars: Jusnaturalism and Contractualism, favoring the idea of natural rights and a social contract. In light of these positions, the human being is considered to be free and self-determined, and therefore with a full ability to select between good and evil. In this sense, Liberal Criminology understands a criminal act as one exclusively related to the free will that we all supposedly possess, overlooking the multiplicity of (macro and micropolitical) factors related to the subject of crime. Re-examining the history of this model of criminological thought and problematizing is relevant as its influence on the criminal sphere is still significant today, meaning it impacts on an understanding of the phenomenon of crime and the taking of legal decisions.