Cosa punire? Scopi e limiti delle proibizioni penali nella filosofia di Beccaria

Criminal rules are undoubtedly necessary for civil coexistence, but their extension may well exceed the criterion of necessity. Where to draw the line between the licit and the illicit? Which prohibitions are legitimate? Beyond what extent does the legal compression of freedom become unacceptable? Faced with these crucial questions, Beccaria rejects the traditional answers of moral theology and legal culture. His civil philosophy, rooted in the doctrine of the social contract, drastically reduces the scope of the power to punish. This article examines Beccaria’s discourse on the justification of prohibitive norms, with particular regard to the problem of the penal regulation of sexual life.