ABSTRACT
This chapter examines expressivism’s roots and include a discussion of more recent attempts to revise and improve expressivism, principally, the communicative theory of punishment. Expressivists raise several important considerations that are often overlooked by other theories of punishment and this has helped contribute to their increasing popularity. Punishment gives concrete expression to the public mood in a structured way. Public anger towards crime is not always unjustified. Punishment gives concrete expression to the public mood in a structured way. Public anger towards crime is not always unjustified. The public may understand official disapproval through punishment. There is no good reason to believe that punishment expresses official approval under normal circumstances. Expressivist theories present people with a powerful and compelling new understanding of punishment. Time spent imprisoned should not be a pleasant experience in order to best benefit offenders.
