ABSTRACT
An enormous sector of our actions is regulated simply by what we believe to be the expectations of our fellow citizens and by our occasional experience of their disapproval when we fail to fulfil these expectations. In all societies, however, some forms of behaviour are so frequent and at the same time so objectionable that they are prohibited under a code which both provides for certain sanctions and is universal in its application to members of the society. Attempts to formulate a simple rule by which to decide whether a certain type of conduct is a proper subject for the criminal law are unlikely to be realistic. A purely economic justification of this kind would lead us to question the logic of treating as criminal – or at least of prosecuting — petty thefts, such as shoplifting, where the value of the goods stolen is probably less than the cost of turning the mills of justice.
