What is it about?
The chapter summarizes the main features of Italian corruption, as revealed by criminal investigations and proceedings starting in the early Nineties, i.e. its peculiar 'systemic' nature, which is related not only to its scope and diffusivity, but also to its cultural roots and cultural power, its attitude to self-replication and its wider 'anomic' impact on society. This, in turn, is related to a feature common to all white-collar crimes, which E.H. Sutherland identified in the component of 'abuse of trust' which is intrinsic to said criminality.
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Why is it important?
The essay shows how the harm generated by certain criminal typologies - specifically, by white-collar crime in general, and by bribery and corruption in particular - goes far beyond its measurable effects, and especially far beyond its direct and indirect economic costs, by affecting the culture, structure and functioning of society at large.
Perspectives
The added value of this chapter is its attitude to link the criminological analysis of very topical issues to the roots of philosophical thought about the structure, meaning and functions of criminal law and criminal punishment.
Arianna Visconti
Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
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This page is a summary of: Cesare Beccaria and White-Collar Crimes’ Public Harm, January 2007, Springer Science + Business Media,
DOI: 10.1007/978-0-387-34111-8_24.
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