5.4. Classical School 
BRIAN FEDOREK 
During the Enlightenment, citizens and social thinkers began to question how they were ruled. In the 
Leviathan (1651), Hobbes made a few assumptions about human beings.
1 He assumed humans were at 
conflict with one another, pursued their self-interests, and were rational. Moreover, people would create 
authority figures out of fear of others, and people should democratically create rules that all citizens must 
follow. Hobbes wanted a new type of government, one that was ruled by the people and not by monarchs. 
He believed people had natural rights such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. If we grant the 
assumption that people are rational, we would assume people have the ability to consider the possible 
consequences of their actions. Hobbes was one of the first social contract thinkers. Social contract thinkers 
believed people would invest in the laws of their society if, and only if, they know government protected 
them from those who break the law. People will give up a little of their self-interests as long as everyone 
reciprocates. 
Building on Hobbes and other social contract thinkers at the time, humans were assumed to have free will 
and were rational beings. We can choose one action over another based on perceived benefits and possible 
consequences. Moreover, human beings are hedonistic. Hedonism is the assumption that people will see 
maximum pleasure and avoid pain (punishment). Consequently, if we grant the assumptions of classical 
theory, we can hold people 100% responsible for their actions because it was a choice. These assumptions 
have been the basis for the American criminal justice system since its inception. Although theories may 
have changed the landscape of understanding criminal behavior and may have changed the philosophies of 
punishments over time, the criminal justice system has maintained the assumption that crime is a choice. 
Hence, we can hold offenders 100% responsible for their actions. 
Cesare Beccaria (1738-1794) was an Italian mathematician and economist. He was shocked by the unfair 
treatment of the accused. In protest, he anonymously wrote An Essay on Crimes and Punishment (1764), 
which attacked Europe’s use of harsh treatment.
2 Ideally, he wanted to change the excessive and cruel 
punishment by applying rationalistic, social contract ideas. At the time, judges had tremendous power to 
determine guilt and create laws based on their decisions. Intellectuals well received his essay at the time, but 
the Catholic Church banned it. His ideas were exceptionally radical at the time, mainly because his writing 
questioned the power structures at the time. 
1. Hobbes, T. (1651/1968). Leviathan. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books. 
2. Beccaria, C. (1963). On crimes and punishments (H. Paolucci, Trans.). Indianapolis, IN: Bobbs-Merril. (Original work published in 1764) 
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