Death Penalty, Kantian Ethics, and Utilitarianism Essay

Death Penalty, Kantian Ethics, and Utilitarianism - Essay Example The argument that almost everyone would prefer life imprisonment than execution is often put forward by these people. But I do not agree at all with this argument as it does not hold any weightage in my point of view. My first argument against the claim of these activists is that they are talking solely about the preference of the criminals who commit capital crimes. They are not taking in the full picture here. The simple and straight forward truth of the matter is that most of these so called human right activists belong to either the neutral group or the group whose relatives or friends are facing such punishments. If you ask from the person who has lost a love one at the hands of these criminals, he would never advocate anything less than a death penalty for the guilty one. And it is their opinion that should hold more weightage, the one who has been wronged has the final say in deciding to punish the wrong doer, not the wrong doer himself. If the argument is that we should think humanely when dealing with these criminals, then my question is simple in this regard; is the killing of another person humane? If it is not, and I am sure you would agree that it is not, then the criminals who are gu ilty for murder have no right to ask for a humane punishment themselves. The supporters of utilitarianism will probably retaliate to this by asking of the specific usefulness of this particular act, i.e. putting a murderer to death. The utilitarian approach holds that all actions should be judged of their usefulness by looking at their consequences. The best action, according to this philosophy, is the one that maximizes the overall happiness. So, they hold the argument that life imprisonment isolates the bad people from the society forever, which should result in the satisfaction of all, the wronged and the wrong doers and the society in large. Then why opt for such a brutal punishment as the death penalty? But do we really know the consequences of any of our action? The repercussions and reverberations of a single action can span decades or even centuries. For me, the threat of an immediate punishment of death is the biggest deterrence humanity has against humans who have forgotte n humanity! The fear of this penalty might be stopping many people from taking someone’s life. Because humans instinctively fear all fears, and giving an exemplary punishment to someone instills that fears in the hearts of like-minded people (Rosen, 2003). I am advocating capital punishment only for the people who play any part in the wrongful killing of another human being. Countries that use death penalty for other crimes like drug related etc. should re-analyze their punishments in light of the contemporary deontology philosophy. This philosophy holds out that if harm to a few can save the majority, then it is justified for the greater good, if that harm is an aspect of the greater good itself. Therefore, if by executing someone like Osama bin Laden can remove the unease of a vast majority of the people, and can save lives, than it sure is justified. But drugs and adultery are acts that do not threaten to take someone’s life, so, the countries where death is given i n punishment to even these crimes; they should rethink the logic behind it and abolish it (Kamm, 2007). Now we come to the view of the ethical egoists. This philosophy and its adherents say that people ought to act in

Main differences in the approach to urban policy between Scotland and Essay

Main differences in the approach to urban policy between Scotland and England in the period 1979-1987 - Essay Example It is a common belief of most of the people that all the factors are collaborated and need to be addressed simultaneously (McCarthy 67). The nucleus of Scottish urban regeneration policy consists of several particular government programmes. Moreover, other policies have greater impact on the Scottish communities. It is true that, people of Scotland, especially the urban people were suffering from inadequate environmental and social situations. This nucleus of urban regeneration policy historically had two broad threads in Scotland. Urban Programme is considered as one of those broad threads. This Urban programme was fundamentally a funding administration that helped to stimulate a vast range of several relevant activities (Blackman 91). The considerable changes in the Scottish urban regeneration policy tried to bring election of the labour government approaches together. The Scottish Urban programme had several significance source of funding. Key indicators that are characterized as disadvantaged included short-term and long-term employment, uptake of education support, low household income, low educational attainment level and increasing crime rate. After Second World War, the economic and social condition of Scotland violated drastically. The country was suffering from several racial conflicts, colour and gender discrimination in workplace, high unemployment rate and low disposable income of citizens and communal or social conflicts. The government of Scotland tried to develop several policies in order to lift the standard of living of the Scottish people. Moreover, majority of a population group started to migrate in several countries to achieve social and economical advantages. These migrations and environmental conflicts hampered the social and economical balance of Scotland. Therefore, the government of Scotland started to develop urban regeneration policy to bring stability in the society and economy. The Priority Partnership area scheme emphasized the communities’ designation for realistic support for particular projects within the regeneration strategy. This idiosyncratic combination of all the policy elements reflected the chronological development of urban growth and regeneration policy in Scotland. This Priority Partnership area concept initiated to increase of Scottish corporatist tradition. This Priority Partnership Area brings both the local and central government. The significant nature of several Scottish urban regeneration policies have arisen from the municipal intervention legacy. The Scottish urban renewal unit was established in 1975. Scottish Urban regeneration forum is an important independent regeneration network for Scotland. It helps to improve the regeneration policy and practices. This forum works closely with several policy makers in the Scottish agencies and governments. Scottish Urban regeneration has evolved into a distinguishing approach. Since 1969, the Scottish urban regeneration programme has been considered as the key source of funding for the economic, environmental and social improvement of urban areas suffering from social disadvantages and deprival problems. In Practice, the eligible areas for urban programme funding had been constantly interpreted by the office of Scotland. Through this funding, the Scottish Urban