capital punishment agree or disagree essay

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capital punishment , you agree or disagree # IELTS Essay

Without capital punishment (the death penalty) our lives are less secure and crimes of violence increase. Capital punishment is essential to control violence in society.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

Crime and violence have existed and sustained in our world since centuries. In earlier times, all crimes were designated as one and there was no differentiation between heinous and petty crimes. Death penalty was awarded to all who committed crimes, irrespective of their seriousness but now it is awarded for those crimes which are heinous.

Capital punishment for certain crimes is essential as it deters the culprit to commit the offence again. It instils fear in the person to commit atrocious and brutal offences. If there was no death penalty for such crimes, criminals would walk around free without any fear and repeat such criminal acts of violence. It is only when a criminal or offender fears for one’s own life, does it dissuade him to commit offences. We have had a number of cases in India whereby the death penalty has been awarded. For instance, Kasab, the terrorist who was involved in the terrorist attack in which many people were killed in cold blood at the Hotel Taj in Mumbai, was awarded the sentence and was hanged till death last year. Apart from this, the victims and their families also feel a sense of justice and security which in turn makes them live peacefully.

Yet capital punishment does not always lead to less crime in society. If the crime statistics are given attention, it will be seen that crime has increased manifold over the years, despite the death penalty being awarded in many cases.  This can be supported by the recent rape case which occurred in Delhi, whereby two criminals were given the death penalty but the incidence of rapes have not decreased. In fact, the numbers are growing gradually and each year it surpasses the previous year.

It can be concluded that capital punishment does not necessarily control crime in a society and only has a deterrent effect but it is required in those cases where heinous and despicable crimes have been committed.

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Arguments for and Against the Death Penalty

Click the buttons below to view arguments and testimony on each topic.

The death penalty deters future murders.

Retribution

A just society requires the taking of a life for a life.

The risk of executing the innocent precludes the use of the death penalty.

Arbitrariness & Discrimination

The death penalty is applied unfairly and should not be used.

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Should the Death Penalty Be Abolished?

In its last six months, the United States government has put 13 prisoners to death. Do you think capital punishment should end?

By Nicole Daniels

Students in U.S. high schools can get free digital access to The New York Times until Sept. 1, 2021.

In July, the United States carried out its first federal execution in 17 years. Since then, the Trump administration has executed 13 inmates, more than three times as many as the federal government had in the previous six decades.

The death penalty has been abolished in 22 states and 106 countries, yet it is still legal at the federal level in the United States. Does your state or country allow the death penalty?

Do you believe governments should be allowed to execute people who have been convicted of crimes? Is it ever justified, such as for the most heinous crimes? Or are you universally opposed to capital punishment?

In “ ‘Expedited Spree of Executions’ Faced Little Supreme Court Scrutiny ,” Adam Liptak writes about the recent federal executions:

In 2015, a few months before he died, Justice Antonin Scalia said he w o uld not be surprised if the Supreme Court did away with the death penalty. These days, after President Trump’s appointment of three justices, liberal members of the court have lost all hope of abolishing capital punishment. In the face of an extraordinary run of federal executions over the past six months, they have been left to wonder whether the court is prepared to play any role in capital cases beyond hastening executions. Until July, there had been no federal executions in 17 years . Since then, the Trump administration has executed 13 inmates, more than three times as many as the federal government had put to death in the previous six decades.

The article goes on to explain that Justice Stephen G. Breyer issued a dissent on Friday as the Supreme Court cleared the way for the last execution of the Trump era, complaining that it had not sufficiently resolved legal questions that inmates had asked. The article continues:

If Justice Breyer sounded rueful, it was because he had just a few years ago held out hope that the court would reconsider the constitutionality of capital punishment. He had set out his arguments in a major dissent in 2015 , one that must have been on Justice Scalia’s mind when he made his comments a few months later. Justice Breyer wrote in that 46-page dissent that he considered it “highly likely that the death penalty violates the Eighth Amendment,” which bars cruel and unusual punishments. He said that death row exonerations were frequent, that death sentences were imposed arbitrarily and that the capital justice system was marred by racial discrimination. Justice Breyer added that there was little reason to think that the death penalty deterred crime and that long delays between sentences and executions might themselves violate the Eighth Amendment. Most of the country did not use the death penalty, he said, and the United States was an international outlier in embracing it. Justice Ginsburg, who died in September, had joined the dissent. The two other liberals — Justices Sotomayor and Elena Kagan — were undoubtedly sympathetic. And Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, who held the decisive vote in many closely divided cases until his retirement in 2018, had written the majority opinions in several 5-to-4 decisions that imposed limits on the death penalty, including ones barring the execution of juvenile offenders and people convicted of crimes other than murder .

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Life in Prison or the Death Penalty

by Viktoriia (Ukraine)

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Capital Punishment

by Azam (Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan)

Without capital punishment (the death penalty) our lives are less secure and crimes of violence increase. Capital punishment is essential to control violence in society. To what extent do you agree or disagree? I thoroughly agree with the proposition, capital punishment should be made mandatory in our society, where crime ratio is being increased day by day because we live in a world where people are not even certain about how they are going to return, either on legs or on shoulders. There is a law of physics, which is known as "Murphy's Law", which states that "Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong". So whose duty is it to make it right again? To start with, the ratio of crime and terrorism is being so increased exponentially. People feel unsafe, even being at their own homes. Criminals show no compassion or mercy to those who are being held by them as captives. I do not know what they get by doing such heinous and diabolical acts. In my opinion, death penalty should be made as an essential punishment for those criminals and insurgents who love to annihilate the humanity or the society we live in, where people get massacred brutally just like flies in air. The good example of this is in most of middle-eastern countries where criminals get beheaded or hanged publicly for their wrongdoings, that is why their crime ratio is equivalent to almost zero. Crime is afterall a crime, irrespective of how big or small it is. By this i mean that, adopting such policy might frightens those criminals and make them to think at least ten times before bringing any kind of furor among citizen and annihilate them. On the other hand, many people or activists think that criminals are also humans so they also deserve another chance to rectify themselves to become a better citizen in future. From these facts, I would maintain that, no human-being happens to be an insurgent, criminal or terrorist by birth. It is just the time which plays as a best teacher for some and worst for some.

IELTS Capital Punishment Essay

Capital Punishment Essay

Please give some honest feedback. Without capital punishment (the death penalty) our lives are less secure and crimes of violence increase. Capital punishment in essential to control violence in society. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion? With rising violence and ghost gun availability, normal people are more prone to danger now than ever. The whole judicial process consumes a lot of time and effort to punish the guilty. Furthermore, the lighter penalities fail to dither the culprit from repeating the crime placing the public in danger. I partially agree that capital punishment is needed to control violence and will try to explain the same below. Many criminals repeat their offending behavioural pattern as soon as they come out of the prison after serving the sentence as prison fails to bring any change in their basic nature. Plenty of criminals jailed in sexual assualt cases and robbery continue such behaviour once they are out again. Many racists and terrorists with extreme nature also follow the similar kind of pursuit. Also ghost guns without serial numbers and unexcepted attacks inspired from online videos mak it difficult to guard against vulnerable victims. capital punishment thus sounds good to deter offenders depending on the gravity of the situation as such people are too risky to be left out in to the society again. Nevertheless, awarding a death penalty to criminals cannot alone change their behaviour as observed in ISIS follwers who are prepared to die in their own attacks. Thus, death sentence cannot be a solution that reduces the crimes and secures public. Also, it assumes that perpetrators can never change rejecting the basic notion behind the punishment and legal process. Death is too severe and cannot be reversed in terms of penalty. Thus, capital punishment fails to address the cause of concern in reducing the crime rate but it is imperative in few cases of extremely grave crimes. Just like how one shoe doesn't fit every foot, one punishment cannot address all the uprising violence in the society alone. It surely does apply to few scenarios and some other measures are to be taken to address the elephant in the room.

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Death Penalty

by sadineni (Bangalore)

With Out Capital punishment (The death Penalty) our lives are less secure and crimes of violence increase. Do you agree or disagree? Death is same for both good people and as well as bad people (criminals). Fear of death is the deepest and strongest fear in the humane race. Nobody raise hand aganist this point. But here the question is whether capital punishment is essential to controle violence in society? Can We use this fear of death to controle violence? Killing a person who was killed other person. How far it is correct? In Recent years, If we see some crimes. even death penality is not sufficient to punish the criminals of those crimes like Nirbhaya case in India, Terrorist attack on Taj hotel in India and famous attack on world trade towers. As i already mentioned inherited death will be there in all living creatures in this universe. We can user this fear of death to prevent crime in society by installing the fear in peoples mind by hanging the criminal in the crime like nirbhaya case in India. If some body ask the question, How far it is correct to kill a person with the name of punishment, then deffinetly my answer is "yes it is correct" Because we have to see the intention behind killing the person. A soldier killing an enemy is not at all a crime but a person who was killed other person for the sake of money is deffinetly a crime. Similarly killing a person who was killed other person is to prevent the crime and to make justice to the victim. Capital punishment is not a new concept to us, It is there from our ancient times. So i can conclude my argument as capital punishment is essential to controle violance in society along with efforts to chnage the idiology and way of thinking of criminals .There should be strong system not to misuse the capital punishment,other wise it may cause furthermore violence in society instead of decrease violence in society.

Death Penalty Essay

Some people advocate the death penalty for those who committed violent crimes. Others say that capital punishment is unacceptable in contemporary society. Describe the advantages and disadvantages of the death penalty and give your opinion. It's always said that "forgiving and making people learn from the mistakes is the best solution".The death penalty is something that is given to the people who committed an absolute brutal or cruel crime. As it is known that every coin has two different sides and every aspect or decision has both advantages and disadvantages. In detail, the death penalty when given to the criminals the authorities hang them or kill them on a decided date. The death penalty brings fear in the people who think of attempting a crime and people will never have the audacity to commit a crime. Which results in clearance of the negatives in the society and keeping it safe. In other words, the death penalty brings awareness to people who commit an offense and force them to choose the right path. On the contrary, this causes a loss of human life and great grief to their friends and family. An innocent person may lose their due to this punishment. For an instance, many criminals these days use innocent people as a part of their crime, and later these people are caught instead of the original criminals. If these people are given the death penalty this results in taking away an innocents life. Also, this may lead to a revolt by the public on authorities. Moreover. killing someone is never a favorable solution, Teaching them the way of life and how to exceptionally use their ideas for a better living would be much more satisfactory and ideal. A punishment should teach someone how to go on the right way by following the rules and regulations, but should never kill someone. Therefore, I support the idea that capital punishment is unacceptable in contemporary society. Authorities should try to avoid death penalties to the maxing extent and should promote the ideology of changing the criminal's mindsets and thoughts and make them a better human being.

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Home Essay Samples Social Issues Death Penalty

Death Penalty: Agree or Disagree. Perspectives on Capital Punishment

Table of contents, 1. arguments in agreement with the death penalty.

• 1.1. Deterrent Effect on Crime Proponents of the death penalty often argue that it serves as a potent deterrent against severe crimes, particularly murder. The fear of facing death, they argue, is more likely to give pause to potential offenders, thus reducing crime rates. 1.2. Retribution and Justice for Victims and Families Supporters of capital punishment frequently view it as a form of just retribution—a method for the justice system to 'balance the scales' by inflicting a punishment equivalent to the harm caused. For the families and loved ones of victims, the execution of the perpetrator can, in some cases, provide a sense of closure and justice. 2. Arguments in Disagreement with the Death Penalty 2.1. Risk of Wrongful Execution One of the most compelling arguments against the death penalty is the risk of executing an innocent person. Despite rigorous legal processes, errors do occur, and the irreversible nature of the death penalty means that an innocent person could be killed. 2.2. Ethical and Moral Concerns Opponents of the death penalty often cite moral and ethical reasons for their stance. They argue that the state should not participate in taking human life, as this act is fundamentally immoral and contradicts the values of a civilized society. 2.3. Ineffectiveness as a Deterrent Critics of the death penalty contend that there is no conclusive evidence to support the claim that capital punishment effectively deters crime. They point to statistical data from regions where the death penalty is not used, which often have lower crime rates compared to regions where capital punishment is in practice. 2.4. Economic and Social Costs Contrary to the belief that the death penalty is a cost-effective form of punishment, opponents argue that it is often more expensive than life imprisonment due to extensive legal proceedings, appeals, and the costs associated with the death row facilities. Additionally, they point out the social costs, including the psychological toll on the families of both the victim and the condemned individual. Conclusion In this "death penalty agree or disagree essay," various arguments for and against capital punishment have been explored. From the perspective of those in agreement, the death penalty serves as a necessary deterrent and a means of retributive justice. Conversely, those who disagree with the death penalty often cite the risk of wrongful execution, ethical and moral concerns, its questionable effectiveness as a deterrent, and its high economic and social costs as fundamental reasons for their opposition. Ultimately, where one stands on the death penalty is a matter of personal belief, often rooted in a complex interplay of ethical, societal, and pragmatic considerations. As this essay demonstrates, there are compelling arguments on both sides, highlighting the complex and multifaceted nature of this enduring debate.
• 1.2. Retribution and Justice for Victims and Families Supporters of capital punishment frequently view it as a form of just retribution—a method for the justice system to 'balance the scales' by inflicting a punishment equivalent to the harm caused. For the families and loved ones of victims, the execution of the perpetrator can, in some cases, provide a sense of closure and justice. 2. Arguments in Disagreement with the Death Penalty 2.1. Risk of Wrongful Execution One of the most compelling arguments against the death penalty is the risk of executing an innocent person. Despite rigorous legal processes, errors do occur, and the irreversible nature of the death penalty means that an innocent person could be killed. 2.2. Ethical and Moral Concerns Opponents of the death penalty often cite moral and ethical reasons for their stance. They argue that the state should not participate in taking human life, as this act is fundamentally immoral and contradicts the values of a civilized society. 2.3. Ineffectiveness as a Deterrent Critics of the death penalty contend that there is no conclusive evidence to support the claim that capital punishment effectively deters crime. They point to statistical data from regions where the death penalty is not used, which often have lower crime rates compared to regions where capital punishment is in practice. 2.4. Economic and Social Costs Contrary to the belief that the death penalty is a cost-effective form of punishment, opponents argue that it is often more expensive than life imprisonment due to extensive legal proceedings, appeals, and the costs associated with the death row facilities. Additionally, they point out the social costs, including the psychological toll on the families of both the victim and the condemned individual. Conclusion In this "death penalty agree or disagree essay," various arguments for and against capital punishment have been explored. From the perspective of those in agreement, the death penalty serves as a necessary deterrent and a means of retributive justice. Conversely, those who disagree with the death penalty often cite the risk of wrongful execution, ethical and moral concerns, its questionable effectiveness as a deterrent, and its high economic and social costs as fundamental reasons for their opposition. Ultimately, where one stands on the death penalty is a matter of personal belief, often rooted in a complex interplay of ethical, societal, and pragmatic considerations. As this essay demonstrates, there are compelling arguments on both sides, highlighting the complex and multifaceted nature of this enduring debate.
• 2. Arguments in Disagreement with the Death Penalty 2.1. Risk of Wrongful Execution One of the most compelling arguments against the death penalty is the risk of executing an innocent person. Despite rigorous legal processes, errors do occur, and the irreversible nature of the death penalty means that an innocent person could be killed. 2.2. Ethical and Moral Concerns Opponents of the death penalty often cite moral and ethical reasons for their stance. They argue that the state should not participate in taking human life, as this act is fundamentally immoral and contradicts the values of a civilized society. 2.3. Ineffectiveness as a Deterrent Critics of the death penalty contend that there is no conclusive evidence to support the claim that capital punishment effectively deters crime. They point to statistical data from regions where the death penalty is not used, which often have lower crime rates compared to regions where capital punishment is in practice. 2.4. Economic and Social Costs Contrary to the belief that the death penalty is a cost-effective form of punishment, opponents argue that it is often more expensive than life imprisonment due to extensive legal proceedings, appeals, and the costs associated with the death row facilities. Additionally, they point out the social costs, including the psychological toll on the families of both the victim and the condemned individual. Conclusion In this "death penalty agree or disagree essay," various arguments for and against capital punishment have been explored. From the perspective of those in agreement, the death penalty serves as a necessary deterrent and a means of retributive justice. Conversely, those who disagree with the death penalty often cite the risk of wrongful execution, ethical and moral concerns, its questionable effectiveness as a deterrent, and its high economic and social costs as fundamental reasons for their opposition. Ultimately, where one stands on the death penalty is a matter of personal belief, often rooted in a complex interplay of ethical, societal, and pragmatic considerations. As this essay demonstrates, there are compelling arguments on both sides, highlighting the complex and multifaceted nature of this enduring debate.
• 2.1. Risk of Wrongful Execution One of the most compelling arguments against the death penalty is the risk of executing an innocent person. Despite rigorous legal processes, errors do occur, and the irreversible nature of the death penalty means that an innocent person could be killed. 2.2. Ethical and Moral Concerns Opponents of the death penalty often cite moral and ethical reasons for their stance. They argue that the state should not participate in taking human life, as this act is fundamentally immoral and contradicts the values of a civilized society. 2.3. Ineffectiveness as a Deterrent Critics of the death penalty contend that there is no conclusive evidence to support the claim that capital punishment effectively deters crime. They point to statistical data from regions where the death penalty is not used, which often have lower crime rates compared to regions where capital punishment is in practice. 2.4. Economic and Social Costs Contrary to the belief that the death penalty is a cost-effective form of punishment, opponents argue that it is often more expensive than life imprisonment due to extensive legal proceedings, appeals, and the costs associated with the death row facilities. Additionally, they point out the social costs, including the psychological toll on the families of both the victim and the condemned individual. Conclusion In this "death penalty agree or disagree essay," various arguments for and against capital punishment have been explored. From the perspective of those in agreement, the death penalty serves as a necessary deterrent and a means of retributive justice. Conversely, those who disagree with the death penalty often cite the risk of wrongful execution, ethical and moral concerns, its questionable effectiveness as a deterrent, and its high economic and social costs as fundamental reasons for their opposition. Ultimately, where one stands on the death penalty is a matter of personal belief, often rooted in a complex interplay of ethical, societal, and pragmatic considerations. As this essay demonstrates, there are compelling arguments on both sides, highlighting the complex and multifaceted nature of this enduring debate.
• 2.2. Ethical and Moral Concerns Opponents of the death penalty often cite moral and ethical reasons for their stance. They argue that the state should not participate in taking human life, as this act is fundamentally immoral and contradicts the values of a civilized society. 2.3. Ineffectiveness as a Deterrent Critics of the death penalty contend that there is no conclusive evidence to support the claim that capital punishment effectively deters crime. They point to statistical data from regions where the death penalty is not used, which often have lower crime rates compared to regions where capital punishment is in practice. 2.4. Economic and Social Costs Contrary to the belief that the death penalty is a cost-effective form of punishment, opponents argue that it is often more expensive than life imprisonment due to extensive legal proceedings, appeals, and the costs associated with the death row facilities. Additionally, they point out the social costs, including the psychological toll on the families of both the victim and the condemned individual. Conclusion In this "death penalty agree or disagree essay," various arguments for and against capital punishment have been explored. From the perspective of those in agreement, the death penalty serves as a necessary deterrent and a means of retributive justice. Conversely, those who disagree with the death penalty often cite the risk of wrongful execution, ethical and moral concerns, its questionable effectiveness as a deterrent, and its high economic and social costs as fundamental reasons for their opposition. Ultimately, where one stands on the death penalty is a matter of personal belief, often rooted in a complex interplay of ethical, societal, and pragmatic considerations. As this essay demonstrates, there are compelling arguments on both sides, highlighting the complex and multifaceted nature of this enduring debate.
• 2.3. Ineffectiveness as a Deterrent Critics of the death penalty contend that there is no conclusive evidence to support the claim that capital punishment effectively deters crime. They point to statistical data from regions where the death penalty is not used, which often have lower crime rates compared to regions where capital punishment is in practice. 2.4. Economic and Social Costs Contrary to the belief that the death penalty is a cost-effective form of punishment, opponents argue that it is often more expensive than life imprisonment due to extensive legal proceedings, appeals, and the costs associated with the death row facilities. Additionally, they point out the social costs, including the psychological toll on the families of both the victim and the condemned individual. Conclusion In this "death penalty agree or disagree essay," various arguments for and against capital punishment have been explored. From the perspective of those in agreement, the death penalty serves as a necessary deterrent and a means of retributive justice. Conversely, those who disagree with the death penalty often cite the risk of wrongful execution, ethical and moral concerns, its questionable effectiveness as a deterrent, and its high economic and social costs as fundamental reasons for their opposition. Ultimately, where one stands on the death penalty is a matter of personal belief, often rooted in a complex interplay of ethical, societal, and pragmatic considerations. As this essay demonstrates, there are compelling arguments on both sides, highlighting the complex and multifaceted nature of this enduring debate.
• 2.4. Economic and Social Costs Contrary to the belief that the death penalty is a cost-effective form of punishment, opponents argue that it is often more expensive than life imprisonment due to extensive legal proceedings, appeals, and the costs associated with the death row facilities. Additionally, they point out the social costs, including the psychological toll on the families of both the victim and the condemned individual. Conclusion In this "death penalty agree or disagree essay," various arguments for and against capital punishment have been explored. From the perspective of those in agreement, the death penalty serves as a necessary deterrent and a means of retributive justice. Conversely, those who disagree with the death penalty often cite the risk of wrongful execution, ethical and moral concerns, its questionable effectiveness as a deterrent, and its high economic and social costs as fundamental reasons for their opposition. Ultimately, where one stands on the death penalty is a matter of personal belief, often rooted in a complex interplay of ethical, societal, and pragmatic considerations. As this essay demonstrates, there are compelling arguments on both sides, highlighting the complex and multifaceted nature of this enduring debate.

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IELTS Essay, topic: Capital Punishment

• IELTS Essays - Band 5

Without capital punishment our lives are less secure and crimes or violence increase. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

Where are the paragraphs? This is a good essay; however there are many small mistakes that might cost you dearly. There are also several unclear expressions and grammatical errors.

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Capital Punishment Essay for IELTS- Samples to Help You Out

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Updated on 20 October, 2023

Mrinal Mandal

Study abroad expert.

The capital punishment essay in IELTS   is one of the common topics for the examination. You should structure your essay carefully to maintain the minimum word count of 250 words while also sticking to the time limit of forty minutes to complete. Here are some samples that will help you practice the essay seamlessly.

Table of Contents

Download e-books for ielts preparation, essay 2 - capital punishment, study abroad without ielts, capital punishment essay ielts samples.

Question-  Without capital punishment (the death penalty) ,  our lives are less secure, and crimes of violence increase. Capital punishment is essential to control violence in society. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion? You should write at least 250 words. 

The death penalty's role can only be debated after pondering over the need for any punishment and the purpose it serves. If punishment is imposed to prevent the guilty individual from repeating the offense, then the argument tilts towards doing away with capital punishment. 

However, another aspect of the issue should be carefully examined, i.e., punishment is also useful when it impresses upon people about something wrong that has occurred and instills a fear of the law in them.

Suppose a young member of society, who has always been exposed to perennial violence and disruption and under the influence of older criminals, does not have any prevalent societal aim other than survival. This type of individual may be easily lured to kill someone for money or protection. Why would such an individual even fear the law and jail time? Life would be easier for such hardened individuals in prison. Penalties are often reduced in jails for good behavior and cooperation. Hence, this young individual should be taught that law is the guiding light of society.

Breaking the law may lead to serious punishment and even loss of life. From this context, it can be said that capital punishment helps in widening the gulf between petty offenses and violence and the act of murder. Abolition of capital punishment will reduce the differences between petty and serious crimes, leading to wholly unwanted consequences. 

However, even if the death penalty cannot be bypassed in some cases, it is not right to implement it for all serious crimes. If there is no past precedence or principle to justify the penalty, it is too stringent to be applied in many cases. Hence, to conclude, it can be stated that the law has a crucial role to play in the definition of scenarios and contexts which merit capital punishment while taking steps to instill the fear of the law itself amongst all citizens. 

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Crime rates have jumped considerably across the world, as per several reports. For controlling the spiraling crime rate, authorities should emphasize punishments such as life imprisonment for specific crimes and even the death penalty or capital punishment, depending upon the severity of the offense. The Government should implement such regulations to enhance social security and order. 

Many incidents periodically occur and shock society with their heinous nature. We have read about criminals killing their parents, siblings, spouses, and even children. We have seen plots to kill acquaintances, relatives, and friends. If there is no legal framework for stopping such incidents, it would negatively impact any society and its people. Capital punishment is needed for instilling fear amongst wayward citizens about the consequences of taking a life, i.e., the loss of life itself. 

The death penalty may be the sole mechanism for sufficiently punishing those guilty of gruesome and serious crimes and may help in the direct reduction of violence to a great degree worldwide. We have often witnessed instances where women have been brutally raped and murdered by a group of perpetrators. Capital punishment for such violators is the only way to create a deterrent and bring down future instances of such crimes. If society endorses and accepts capital punishment, the crime rate automatically reduces as a result. 

Capital punishment sends out a strong message that there are no second chances for severe offenses. The theme of reforming hardened murderers and allowing them to lead dignified lives does not hold water when they have taken the lives of their fellow citizens. Of course, there are some instances where the law has to take the responsibility of clearly defining the measure of guilt, i.e., an unwarranted accident or killing in self-defense.

To sum up, it can be said that capital punishment is highly necessary for lowering the crime rate in society while also securing the lives and livelihoods of citizens. Otherwise, without a serious deterrent to murder, such crimes would exponentially increase worldwide, putting the entire societal structure at risk. 

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IELTS band 9 essay: death penalty

Here you can find advice how to structure IELTS essay and IELTS model answer for death penalty topic. Question type: advantages and disadvantages .

Here is the question card:

Some people advocate death penalty for those who committed violent crimes. Others say that capital punishment is unacceptable in contemporary society.

Describe advantages and disadvantages of death penalty and give your opinion.

So this is the advantage/disadvantage essay. In this essay you're asked about :

• Advantages of capital punishment
• Disadvantages of capital punishment
• Your opinion about it

Before writing this IELTS essay, you should decide what’s your opinion and then choose your arguments to describe pros and cons of death penalty. You don’t have to make up very complicate ideas. Even simple, but well-written arguments can often give you a band 9 for writing .

Some of the possible arguments :

• Disadvantages of capital punishment :
• we have no rights to kill other humans
• innocent people can be killed because of unfair sentences
• even criminals deserve a second chance
• Advantages of capital punishment :
• it prevents major crimes
• it restores equilibrium of justice
• it lessens expenses on maintenance of prisoners

How to structure my answer?

Surely, there are a lot of ways to organise this essay. But here is one possible way of structuring the answer to produce a band 9 essay :

Introduction : rephrase the topic and state your opinion.

Body paragraphs :

• paragraph 1: disadvantages of death penalty
• paragraph 2: advantages of death penalty

Conclusion : sum up the ideas from body paragraphs and briefly give your opinion.

Band 9 essay sample (death penalty)

Many people believe that death penalty is necessary to keep security system efficient in the society. While there are some negative aspects of capital punishment, I agree with the view that without it we will become more vulnerable to violence.

Death penalty can be considered unsuitable punishment for several reasons. The strongest argument is that we have no rights to kill other humans. Right to live is the basic right of any human being, and no one can infringe this right, irrespective of the person’s deeds. Moreover, innocent people can face wrongful execution. Such unfair sentences take away lives of innocent people and make other citizens lose faith in law and justice. And besides, sometimes criminals repent of their acts. In this case they should be given a second chance to improve themselves.

However, I believe that capital punishment is necessary in the society. Firstly, it is an effective deterrent of major crimes. The best method to prevent a person from committing crime is to show the consequences of his or her actions. For example, the government of Pakistan has controlled the rate of terrorism by enforcing death penalties for the members of terrorist organisations. Secondly, the governments spend large sums of national budget on maintenance of prisoners. Instead, this money can be used for the development of the society and welfare of the people.

To sum up, although capital punishment has some disadvantages, I think that it proves to be the best way of controlling criminals, lessening governmental expenses and preventing other people from doing crimes.

(257 words)

Useful vocabulary

capital punishment = death penalty

to commit a crime - to do a crime

deterrent of major crimes - something that prevents big crimes

to face wrongful execution - to be mistaken for a criminal and killed for that

to infringe someone’s right - restrict someone’s right, hurt someone’s interests

innocent people - people who are not guilty or responsible for crimes

to repent of something - to feel sorry for something

right to live is basic right of any human being

unfair sentence - not fair judgement

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Essay 36 – Capital punishment is essential to control violence in society

Gt writing task 2 (essay writing) sample # 36.

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Without capital punishment (the death penalty) our lives are less secure and crimes of violence increase. Capital punishment is essential to control violence in society.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

You should write at least 250 words.

You should use your own ideas, knowledge and experience and support your arguments with examples and relevant evidence.

Model Answer 1: [Disagree]

The topic of capital punishment elicits strong emotions and diverse viewpoints, and some opine that without capital punishment, our society is prone to more crime and violence. I believe that there are more effective and humane ways to address crime and ensure public safety rather than implementing capital punishment.

Firstly, the claim that capital punishment deters crimes of violence is not strongly supported by empirical evidence. Numerous studies have shown that the presence or absence of the death penalty does not significantly affect crime rates. Factors such as socioeconomic conditions, education, and effective law enforcement play more substantial roles in preventing crime. Therefore, relying on capital punishment as a means to control violence may be misguided and overlook more comprehensive approaches to crime prevention.

Furthermore, the application of capital punishment raises ethical concerns. The irreversible nature of the death penalty means that any errors or miscarriages of justice cannot be rectified. There have been cases where innocent individuals have been wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death, only to be exonerated years later. Such occurrences highlight the inherent fallibility of the justice system and the irreversible consequences of capital punishment.

Rather than relying on capital punishment, societies can focus on implementing more effective crime prevention measures and rehabilitation programmes. Investing in education, social support systems, and rehabilitation initiatives can address the root causes of criminal behaviour and help reintegrate individuals back into society. Moreover, a shift towards restorative justice approaches can offer a more compassionate and meaningful response to crime. Restorative justice focuses on repairing the harm caused by crime, promoting accountability, and facilitating the healing and reconciliation of all parties involved.

In conclusion, the evidence does not convincingly support the claim that the death penalty serves as an effective deterrent for crime. Moreover, ethical concerns, the potential for wrongful convictions, and the irreversibility of the punishment call into question its legitimacy. Instead, I believe that focusing on crime prevention, rehabilitation, and restorative justice can lead to more equitable, humane, and secure societies.

Model Answer 2: [Agree]

Many people believe that the death penalty is necessary for serious offenders to keep our society safe and for the country to function and advance. While such punishments might seem cruel and inhuman to some, I sincerely believe that without capital punishment, our society will become unsafe for ordinary citizens and vulnerable to brutality and crime.

To begin with, our society has laws and punishments so that ordinary citizens can live without fear and violent individuals are kept away from creating havoc. Thus when we talk about a burglar who has stolen more than once, we have a prison sentence for such crime and he is given an opportunity to repent and come clean after he serves the prison time. However, when we talk about a pathological criminal who is a serial killer or has an obsessive-compulsive disorder to rape a child, they are beyond correction and should never be allowed to be able to harm a single innocent soul on our watch. For such capital offences, we need to have capital punishment to make our society secure and safe.

Moreover, I believe that capital punishment is necessary as it is an effective deterrent to many major offences. According to many, the best method to keep crimes under a tolerable level is to show people the consequences of their misconduct and felonies. For example, many Asian countries, including Singapore, have controlled drug trafficking and drug dealing by enforcing death penalties for such offenders. The result of it was astounding and all of those countries have alleviated the drug trafficking and drug dealing problems to a staggering lower level.

To conclude, despite some sentiments against capital punishment, I believe that it proves out to be the best method to make our society a far better place to live in.

Model Answer 3: [Disagree]

Many people believe that the death sentence is necessary to counter the violence and maintain peace in society. However, I believe that there are better alternatives to curb the crime rates and the death penalty is inhumane in a civilised world.

According to many, the death sentence is the only way to make an example to deter others from committing heinous crimes. They believe that serious offenders are like worms in a righteous society and should not be given a second chance. However, for both ideas- in and against capital punishment, several research works have been conducted, and the findings indicate the contrary. It is interesting to note that countries that have implemented capital punishment still have a higher crime rate than those countries that have abolished it. Besides, I personally believe that we do not have the right to kill a human being as this would be another crime.

Thus it is only rational to suggest that counselling and educating criminals in prisons could be a great way to convert criminals into good human beings. Norway, where the crime rate is lower than most other countries in the world, is a great example of how proper counselling can change criminals. Moreover, we have to deal with the core factors of crimes and their backgrounds, give people economic freedom and tackle pressing issues in society to reduce crime rates. A society with a strong economy and educated members has lower crime rates and that is what we should be working on to achieve. Finally, we can replace capital punishment with life imprisonment for repeat offenders and heinous criminals who are beyond correction.

To conclude, persuaded by what has been discussed as well as compelled by what I have learnt and experienced, I would like to reiterate that capital punishment can not reduce the crime rate in the long run and it is inhumane to kill someone for his/her crime.

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capital punishment

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• Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy - Capital Punishment
• Santa Clara University - Capital Punishment: Our Duty or Our Doom?
• Cornell Law School - Legal Information Institute - Death penalty
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capital punishment , execution of an offender sentenced to death after conviction by a court of law of a criminal offense. Capital punishment should be distinguished from extrajudicial executions carried out without due process of law . The term death penalty is sometimes used interchangeably with capital punishment , though imposition of the penalty is not always followed by execution (even when it is upheld on appeal), because of the possibility of commutation to life imprisonment.

Capital punishment for murder , treason , arson , and rape was widely employed in ancient Greece under the laws of Draco (fl. 7th century bce ), though Plato argued that it should be used only for the incorrigible . The Romans also used it for a wide range of offenses, though citizens were exempted for a short time during the republic. It also has been sanctioned at one time or another by most of the world’s major religions. Followers of Judaism and Christianity, for example, have claimed to find justification for capital punishment in the biblical passage “Whosoever sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed” ( Genesis 9:6). Yet capital punishment has been prescribed for many crimes not involving loss of life, including adultery and blasphemy . The ancient legal principle Lex talionis ( talion )—“an eye for an eye , a tooth for a tooth, a life for a life”—which appears in the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi , was invoked in some societies to ensure that capital punishment was not disproportionately applied.

The prevalence of capital punishment in ancient times is difficult to ascertain precisely, but it seems likely that it was often avoided, sometimes by the alternative of banishment and sometimes by payment of compensation . For example, it was customary during Japan’s peaceful Heian period (794–1185) for the emperor to commute every death sentence and replace it with deportation to a remote area, though executions were reinstated once civil war broke out in the mid-11th century.

In Islamic law , as expressed in the Qurʾān , capital punishment is condoned . Although the Qurʾān prescribes the death penalty for several ḥadd (fixed) crimes—including robbery, adultery, and apostasy of Islam —murder is not among them. Instead, murder is treated as a civil crime and is covered by the law of qiṣās (retaliation), whereby the relatives of the victim decide whether the offender is punished with death by the authorities or made to pay diyah (wergild) as compensation.

Death was formerly the penalty for a large number of offenses in England during the 17th and 18th centuries, but it was never applied as widely as the law provided. As in other countries, many offenders who committed capital crimes escaped the death penalty, either because juries or courts would not convict them or because they were pardoned, usually on condition that they agreed to banishment; some were sentenced to the lesser punishment of transportation to the then American colonies and later to Australia. Beginning in the Middle Ages, it was possible for offenders guilty of capital offenses to receive benefit of clergy , by which those who could prove that they were ordained priests (clerks in Holy Orders) as well as secular clerks who assisted in divine service (or, from 1547, a peer of the realm) were allowed to go free, though it remained within the judge’s power to sentence them to prison for up to a year, or from 1717 onward to transportation for seven years. Because during medieval times the only proof of ordination was literacy, it became customary between the 15th and 18th centuries to allow anyone convicted of a felony to escape the death sentence by proving that he (the privilege was extended to women in 1629) could read. Until 1705, all he had to do was read (or recite) the first verse from Psalm 51 of the Bible—“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions”—which came to be known as the “ neck verse” (for its power to save one’s neck). To ensure that an offender could escape death only once through benefit of clergy, he was branded on the brawn of the thumb ( M for murder or T for theft). Branding was abolished in 1779, and benefit of clergy ceased in 1827.

From ancient times until well into the 19th century, many societies administered exceptionally cruel forms of capital punishment. In Rome the condemned were hurled from the Tarpeian Rock ( see Tarpeia ); for parricide they were drowned in a sealed bag with a dog, cock, ape, and viper; and still others were executed by forced gladiatorial combat or by crucifixion . Executions in ancient China were carried out by many painful methods, such as sawing the condemned in half, flaying him while still alive, and boiling . Cruel forms of execution in Europe included “breaking” on the wheel, boiling in oil, burning at the stake , decapitation by the guillotine or an axe, hanging , drawing and quartering , and drowning. Although by the end of the 20th century many jurisdictions (e.g., nearly every U.S. state that employs the death penalty, Guatemala, the Philippines , Taiwan , and some Chinese provinces) had adopted lethal injection , offenders continued to be beheaded in Saudi Arabia and occasionally stoned to death (for adultery) in Iran and Sudan . Other methods of execution were electrocution , gassing, and the firing squad.

Historically, executions were public events, attended by large crowds, and the mutilated bodies were often displayed until they rotted. Public executions were banned in England in 1868, though they continued to take place in parts of the United States until the 1930s. In the last half of the 20th century, there was considerable debate regarding whether executions should be broadcast on television, as has occurred in Guatemala. Since the mid-1990s public executions have taken place in some 20 countries, including Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Nigeria , though the practice has been condemned by the United Nations Human Rights Committee as “incompatible with human dignity.”

In many countries death sentences are not carried out immediately after they are imposed; there is often a long period of uncertainty for the convicted while their cases are appealed. Inmates awaiting execution live on what has been called “ death row ”; in the United States and Japan, some prisoners have been executed more than 15 years after their convictions . The European Union regards this phenomenon as so inhumane that, on the basis of a binding ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (1989), EU countries may extradite an offender accused of a capital crime to a country that practices capital punishment only if a guarantee is given that the death penalty will not be sought.

Top 10 Pro & Con Arguments

Life without Parole

Retribution

Victims’ Families

Methods of Execution

Medical Professionals’ Participation

Federal Death Penalty

1. Legality

The United States is one of 55 countries globally with a legal death penalty, according to Amnesty International. As of Mar. 24, 2021, within the US, 27 states had a legal death penalty (though 3 of those states had a moratorium on the punishment’s use).

Proponents of the death penalty being legal argue that such a harsh penalty is needed for criminals who have committed the worst crimes, that the punishment deters crime, and that the US Supreme Court has upheld the death penalty as constitutional.

Opponents of the death penalty being legal argue that the punishment is cruel and unusual, and, thus, unconstitutional, that innocent people are put to death for crimes they did not commit, and that the penalty is disproportionately applied to people of color.

Read More about This Debate:

Should the Death Penalty Be Legal?

ProCon.org, “International Death Penalty Status,” deathpenalty.procon.org, May 19, 2021 ProCon.org, “Should the Death Penalty Be Legal?,” deathpenalty.procon.org, Sep. 20, 2021 ProCon.org, “States with the Death Penalty, Death Penalty Bans, and Death Penalty Moratoriums,” deathpenalty.procon.org, Mar. 24, 2021

2. Life without Parole

Life without Parole (also called LWOP) is suggested by some as an alternative punishment for the death penalty.

Proponents of replacing the death penalty with life without parole argue that imprisoning someone for the duration of their life is more humane than the death penalty, that LWOP is a more fitting penalty that allows the criminal to think about what they’ve done, and that LWOP reduces the chances of executing an innocent person.

Opponents of replacing the death penalty with life without parole argue that LWOP is just an alternate death penalty and parole should always be a consideration even if the prisoner never earns the privilege. While other opponents argue that life without parole is not a harsh enough punishment for murderers and terrorists.

Should Life without Parole Replace the Death Penalty?

ProCon.org, “Should Life without Parole Replace the Death Penalty?,” deathpenalty.procon.org, Sep. 20, 2021

3. Deterrence

One of the main justifications for maintaining a death penalty is that the punishment may prevent people from committing crimes so as to not risk being sentenced to death.

Proponents who argue that the death penalty is a deterrent to capital crimes state that such a harsh penalty is needed to discourage people from murder and terrorism.

Opponents who argue that the death penalty is not a deterrent to capital crimes state that there is no evidence to support the claim that the penalty is a deterrent.

Does the Death Penalty Deter Crime?

ProCon.org, “Does the Death Penalty Deter Crime?,” deathpenalty.procon.org, Sep. 20, 2021

4. Retribution

Retribution in this debate is the idea that the death penalty is needed to bring about justice for the victims, the victims’ families, and/or society at large.

Proponents who argue that the death penalty is needed as retribution argue that “an eye for an eye” is appropriate, that the punishment should match the crime, and that the penalty is needed as a moral balance to the wrong done by the criminal.

Opponents who argue that the death penalty is not needed as retribution argue that reformative justice is more productive, that innocent people are often killed in the search for retribution, and that “an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.”

Should the Death Penalty Be Used for Retribution for Victims and/or Society?

ProCon.org, “Should the Death Penalty Be Used for Retribution for Victims and/or Society?,” deathpenalty.procon.org, Sep. 20, 2021

5. Victims’ Families

Whether the death penalty can bring about some sort of closure or solace to the victims’ families after a horrible, life-changing experience has long been debated and used by both proponents and opponents of the death penalty.

Proponents who argue that the death penalty is needed to bring about closure and solace to victims’ families argue that the finality of the death penalty is needed for families to move on and not live in fear of the criminal getting out of prison.

Opponents who argue that the death penalty is needed to bring about closure and solace to victims’ families argue that retributive “justice” does not bring closure for anyone and that the death penalty can take years of media-friendly appeals to enact.

Does the Death Penalty Offer Closure or Solace to Victims’ Families?

ProCon.org, “Does the Death Penalty Offer Closure or Solace to Victims’ Families?,” deathpenalty.procon.org, Sep. 20, 2021

6. Methods of Execution

Because the drugs used for lethal injection have become difficult to obtain, some states are turning to other methods of execution. For example, South Carolina recently enacted legislation to allow for the firing squad and electric chair if lethal injection is not available at the time of the execution.

Proponents of alternate methods of execution argue that the state and federal government have an obligation to carry out the sentence handed down, and that, given the recent botched lethal injection executions, other methods may be more humane.

Opponents of alternate methods of execution argue that we should not be reverting to less humane methods of execution, and that the drug companies’ objection to use of lethal injection drugs should signal a need to abolish the penalty altogether.

Should States Authorize Other Methods of Execution Such as Hanging or the Firing Squad?

ProCon.org, “Should States Authorize Other Methods of Execution Such as Hanging or the Firing Squad?,” deathpenalty.procon.org, Sep. 20, 2021

7. Innocence

Reports indicate over 150 innocent people have been found not-guilty and exonerated since the death penalty was reinstated in 1973.

Proponents of abolishing the death penalty because innocent people may be executed argue that humans are fallible and the justice system is flawed, putting more Black and brown people on death row than are guilty of capital crimes, and that we cannot risk executing one innocent person just to carry about retributive “justice.”

Opponents of abolishing the death penalty because innocent people may be executed argue that the fact that death row inmates have been exonerated proves that the checks and balances to prevent innocent people from being executed are in place and working well, almost eliminating the chance that an innocent person will be executed.

Should the Death Penalty Be Abolished Because Innocent People May Be Executed?

ProCon.org, “Should the Death Penalty Be Abolished Because Innocent People May Be Executed?,” deathpenalty.procon.org, Sep. 20, 2021

8. Morality

Both religious and secular debates have continued about whether it is moral for humans to kill one another, even in the name of justice, and whether executing people makes for a moral and just government.

Proponents who argue that the death penalty is a moral punishment state that “an eye for an eye” is justified to promote a good and just society than shuns evil.

Opponents who argue that the death penalty is an immoral punishment state that humans should not kill other humans, no matter the reasons, because killing is killing.

Is the Death Penalty Immoral?

ProCon.org, “Is the Death Penalty Immoral?,” deathpenalty.procon.org, Sep. 20, 2021

9. Medical Professionals’ Participation

With the introduction of lethal injection as execution method, states began asking that medical professionals participate in executions to ensure the injections were administered properly and to provide medical care if the execution were botched.

Proponents who argue that medical professionals can participate in executions ethically state that doctors and others ensure that the execution is not “cruel or unusual,” and ensure that the person being executed receives medical care during the execution.

Opponents who argue that medical professionals cannot participate in executions ethically state that doctors and others should keep people alive instead of participate in killing, and that the medicalization of execution leads to a false acceptance of the practice.

Is Participation in Executions Ethical for Medical Professionals?

ProCon.org, “Is Participation in Executions Ethical for Medical Professionals?,” deathpenalty.procon.org, Sep. 20, 2021

10. Federal Death Penalty

The federal death penalty has only been carried out 16 times since its reinstatement after Furman v. Georgia in 1988: twice in 2001, once in 2003, ten times in 2020, and three times in 2021. Several moratoriums have been put in place by presidents in the interims. Under President Joe Biden, the US Justice Department has enacted a moratorium on the death penalty, reversing President Donald Trump’s policy of carrying out federal executions.

Proponents of keeping the federal death penalty argue that justice must be carried out to deter crime and offer closure to families, and that the federal government has an obligation to enact the sentences handed down by the courts.

Proponents of banning the federal death penalty argue that the United States federal government should set an example for the states with a ban, and that only a ban will prevent the next president from executing the prisoners on death row.

Should the US President Reinstate the Federal Death Penalty?

ProCon.org, “Most Recent Executions in Each US State,” deathpenalty.procon.org, Aug. 26, 2021 ProCon.org, “Should the US President Reinstate the Federal Death Penalty?,” deathpenalty.procon.org, Sep. 20, 2021

People who view this page may also like:

• States with the Death Penalty and States with Death Penalty Bans
• US Executions by Race, Crime, Method, Age, Gender, State, & Year
• Should Euthanasia or Physician-Assisted Suicide Be Legal?

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© 2023 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved

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Hayek, the Accidental Freudian

By Corey Robin

In November, 1977, on a still-sticky evening along Louisiana’s Gulf Coast, the Austrian economist and philosopher Friedrich Hayek boarded a flight bound for Chile and settled into his seat in first class. He was headed to the Valparaíso Business School, where he was scheduled to receive an honorary degree. Upon arrival in Santiago, the Nobel laureate was greeted at the airport by the dean of the business school, Carlos Cáceres. They drove toward the Pacific Coast, stopping for a bite to eat in the city of Casablanca, which had a restaurant known for its chicken stew. After their meal, they steered north to Viña del Mar, a seaside resort city in Valparaíso, where Hayek would take long walks on the beach, pausing now and then to study the stones in the sand.

To the casual observer, it seemed like a typical autumnal recessional, the sort of trip that illustrious scholars enjoy at the end of their careers. This one had a wintrier purpose. In addition to being a fan of Hayek, Cáceres sat on a special board of advisers to the military dictator Augusto Pinochet , who had overthrown Chile’s democratically elected Socialist leader, Salvador Allende , in a violent coup four years earlier. Cáceres would go on to serve as Pinochet’s central banker, finance minister, and interior minister. He helped design the country’s 1980 constitution, which nested a neoliberal economy in the spikes of an authoritarian state. Like many of his market-minded colleagues in the regime, Cáceres wanted the world to see the dictatorship—steeped in kidnapping, torture, and murder—as he saw it: on the road to freedom. A visit from Hayek, an internationally renowned theorist of capitalism and liberty, might help.

If Hayek had any qualms about his role, he did not express them. To the contrary: after a personal meeting with Pinochet, the philosopher told reporters that he had explained to the tyrant that “unlimited democracy does not work.” Pinochet “listened carefully” and asked Hayek to send his writing on the topic. Hayek had his secretary mail a chapter from his forthcoming book, the third volume of “ Law, Legislation and Liberty, ” which included a discussion of emergency rule. After commending the dictatorship for not “being obsessed with popular commitments or political expectations of any kind,” Hayek reported to the media that “the direction of the Chilean economy is very good,” and “an example for the world.” The regime, Cáceres later told Hayek, welcomed his words.

In the following years, Hayek continued to defend the regime, describing its leaders as “educated, reasonable, and insightful men” and Pinochet as “an honorable general.” To a doubting public, Hayek explained that dictators can cleanse democracies of their “impurities.” He reassured critics that he had “not been able to find a single person even in much maligned Chile who did not agree that personal freedom was much greater under Pinochet than it had been under Allende.” It was one of the rare instances when his perception of the country matched reality; as a respondent pointed out, “such absolute unanimity only exists when those who disagree have been imprisoned, expelled, terrified into silence, or destroyed.”

Hayek made his voyage to Santiago more than a quarter century after the years covered in “ Hayek: A Life ,” the first half of Bruce Caldwell and Hansjoerg Klausinger’s projected two-volume biography. The trip is naturally not discussed in this volume, which ends in 1950, yet it is embedded in virtually every sentence of Hayek’s developing thought and being. Decades before he set foot on Chilean soil, Hayek envisioned economic freedom as a form of élite domination. His economy required no intervention of an authoritarian state to be coercive and unfree. It was already coercive and unfree, by design. The question we’re left with, at the end of 1950, is not how Hayek, theorist of liberty, could have come to the aid of Pinochet but, given his theory of the economy, how could he not?

Friedrich August Edler von Hayek was born on May 8, 1899, in his parents’ apartment in Vienna. Two miles away, Sigmund Freud was putting the finishing touches on “ The Interpretation of Dreams .” “ Fin-de-siècle Vienna ” invokes a century-straddling city whose violent metamorphosis, from the crown jewel of the Austro-Hungarian Empire to the capital of the Austrian Republic, released into the world a distinctive swirl of psychoanalysis and logical positivism, fascism and atonal music. Though often omitted from the city’s syllabus, Hayek’s writings are among its lasting texts.

His family story reads like a novel by Joseph Roth or Thomas Mann. Hayek’s paternal great-great-grandfather, a textile manufacturer in Moravia, was ennobled at the end of the eighteenth century; his son squandered his wealth in the course of the nineteenth. Hayek’s maternal great-grandfather was knighted for service to the Emperor at the siege of Arad. Both sides of the family were beneficiaries of a century’s creative accounting that, by the collapse of the Empire in 1918, had bestowed a “von” upon eight thousand members of the bourgeoisie. Though the Republic abolished the use of titles in 1919, Hayek continued to use his until 1945, when it became a liability in his arguments with the left.

A high-minded liberalism is often attributed to these branches of the Austrian bourgeoisie, but fascist and proto-fascist ornaments adorn the Hayek family tree. His grandfather ran for political office, twice, as a follower of Karl Lueger, whom Adolf Hitler claimed as an inspiration. Hayek’s father helped found a racially restrictive association of physicians to oppose the increasing number of Jews in the medical profession. His mother pored over “Mein Kampf” and welcomed the Anschluss. His brother Heinz, who had moved to Germany for a job in 1929, joined the S.A. in 1933 and the Nazi Party in 1938, for reasons of conviction and career, then underwent a de-Nazification trial after the war.

Whatever hold Hayek’s family had upon him in his youth, it loosened during the First World War. While serving at the Italian front, he briefly fell under the spell of the writings of the German Jewish industrialist Walther Rathenau. Upon returning home, Hayek enrolled at the University of Vienna, where he studied with the author of the Austrian constitution, Hans Kelsen, a Jewish social democrat. When capitalism became his passion and economics his profession, Hayek helped found a discussion group of students and faculty, most of them Jewish or of Jewish descent. Exposed “to the best type of Jewish intelligentsia . . . who proved to be far ahead of me in literary education and general precociousness,” Hayek planted his flag of free markets in the field of enlightenment and cosmopolitanism.

Its perimeter extended only so far. In 1923, he travelled to the United States, believing that an “acquaintance” with the country was “indispensable for an economist.” Already primed by Oswald Spengler ’s “ The Decline of the West ,” which he read in 1920, Hayek was appalled by what he saw. The culture was lowbrow, its tastes crass and banal. The women were “horrible . . . walking paint pots.” New York City was crowded and noisy. Americans cared too much about money. Good living required inordinate wealth. Like a socialist who can’t abide the working class, Hayek couldn’t bear the reality of commercial civilization. He chose enchantment instead.

The task of psychoanalysis, Freud wrote in 1917, is “to prove to the ego that it is not even master in its own house, but must content itself with scanty information of what is going on unconsciously in its mind.” Despite his animus toward Freud, whom he called “probably . . . the greatest destroyer of culture,” Hayek launched a similar strike at the “economic man” of mainstream analysis. Against the idea of the “quasi-omniscient individual” who operates in a “perfect market in which everybody knows everything,” Hayek created what he would later call an “anti-rationalistic” approach to economics and social life.

Before 1937, Hayek, by his own account, was a conventional thinker. He had joined the London School of Economics in 1931, where he hewed to the conservative maxims of Austrian economics. He argued for tight money and the gold standard, supported wage cuts and austerity, and tried to assemble a theory of prices and the business cycle from pieces he had been collecting since his dissertation days in Vienna. With his articles “Economics and Knowledge” (1937) and “The Use of Knowledge in Society” (1945), Hayek broke free of these strictures and started his “own way of thinking.” It was “the most exciting moment” of his career, generating a “feeling of sudden illumination, sudden enlightenment.”

Hayek believed that what we see in the economy, what we can know, is limited and constrained. We know small facts: how to jiggle the handle of a machine in our office; who’s available on the weekend to fix that part that always breaks just so; which supplier will replace it when it’s beyond repair. If we, or a limited group of us, were alone in the world with those facts, like Robinson Crusoe on his island, we might know the whole of the economy. But we’re not. We share the economy with a great many others, scattered across the globe. We can’t know their infinitesimal facts any more than they can know ours. Straitened by time and place, each of us possesses only a “special knowledge of circumstances of the fleeting moment not known to others.”

These fragments of economic knowledge are often unconscious; we can’t render them as propositions or in words. A skilled manager can inspire his employees to do excellent work without being able to explain what he did to inspire them.

But if all this knowledge is local and unique, if much of it is unspoken and inferred, how do we produce and consume on a global scale? How does my knowledge get registered by buyers and sellers thousands of miles away? And if the facts of my economic situation change, as they invariably do, how do those buyers and sellers learn of those changes and respond in kind?

For Hayek, the answer lay in the movement of prices. Imagine the global market in lithium, which is crucial to batteries. One day, the price of lithium increases. Maybe demand has gone up: an affordable electric car has rolled off the assembly line, or an efficient energy grid has come online. Maybe supply has come down: a vein of ore in Australia has been thoroughly mined, or workers at a salt flat in Chile have gone on strike. The source of the scarcity is irrelevant to us. Not only does it not matter, Hayek says, “it is significant that it does not matter.” All we know and need to know is the facts of our economic situation. The higher price of lithium raises the price of a new cell phone, so I hold off on upgrading my phone. When the price of lithium goes back down—the Chilean workers settle with management or suppliers find a new source in Australia—I get my phone.

Hayek marvelled at this concert of unknowingness. Like a psychoanalytic symptom, prices condense and communicate fragments of knowledge that are obscure to the conscious mind. The movement of prices effects a change in our “dispositions”—what we want, how much of it we want, what and how much we’re willing to give up to get it—again, without our knowing why, or that we even had such a disposition in the first place. Hayek called this a sort of “social mind”—though, unlike the Freudian mind, he thought it must remain inaccessible. We are all prisoners of a knowledge that allows us to move in dimly lit corridors, bumping into one another, our weight shifting ever so slightly as we try to keep moving in line.

Hayek’s market seems to conjure a wondrous democracy of unreason. No one has comprehensive vision; we coöperate without supervision or sight. But it also invites a question: Where does something like innovation come from? It can’t be from the masses or the majority, the wageworkers whose horizons are limited. Conforming to their values would probably “mean the stagnation, if not the decay, of civilization.” For innovation to occur, he wrote, a few “must lead, and the rest must follow.”

It turns out that knowledge is distributed unequally across Hayek’s market. “Only from an advanced position does the next range of desires and possibilities become visible,” he wrote. A few men, of discrete outline and distinctive purpose, occupy that position, imposing themselves on the many. “The selection of new goals” is made by an élite “long before the majority can strive for them.” There is much unreason but little democracy. There is also little freedom. Hayek cares a great deal about freedom, but he believes that it, too, does its most important work in exclusive quarters. “The freedom that will be used by only one man in a million,” he wrote, “may be more important to society and more beneficial to the majority than any freedom that we all use.”

Hayek’s contortions—his attempts to preserve commitments both to freedom and to élitism—are most evident in his concept of coercion. Coercion, Hayek tells us in the first chapter of “ The Constitution of Liberty ,” his magnum opus on free societies, is “such control of the environment or circumstances of a person by another that, in order to avoid greater evil, he is forced to act not according to a coherent plan of his own but to serve the ends of another.” By way of example, let’s say an investor pulls his money out of a company that I work for, forcing me to lose my job. Thanks to my salary and benefits, I’d taken out a mortgage, started a family, and enrolled my children in school. I had a plan and a purpose for my life. Because of that investor, both are now threatened. His actions have rendered “the alternatives before me . . . distressingly few and uncertain.” Because of him, I may be “impelled” by the threat of starvation “to accept a distasteful job at a very low wage,” which leaves me “ ‘at the mercy’ of the only man willing to employ me.” Even so, Hayek insists that I have not been coerced.

How can that be? Hayek suddenly introduces a new element to his analysis, which is scarcely mentioned in that opening chapter on freedom. “So long as the intent of the act that harms me is not to make me serve another person’s ends,” he writes, “its effect on my freedom is not different from that of any natural calamity.” The investor didn’t seek to harm me, to make me give up my plans and purposes, in the service of his ends. He just happened to harm me in the service of his ends. He’s like a monster wave. Monster waves aren’t coercive; they’re simply telling us to take our surfboard elsewhere.

Hayek’s is an economy in which a few can act, with all the power of nature, while the rest of us are acted upon. That domination is directly derived from his vision of the economy and his conception of freedom. It is a commitment obscured by Hayek’s readers, not only his right-wing defenders but also his left-wing critics. The latter tend to focus on other sources of domination or unfreedom: the cruel and carceral state that enforces Hayek’s neoliberal order; the remote global institutions that put that order beyond the reach of democratic citizens; the patriarchal family that offers tutorials in submission to the market; and the construction of the enterprising self that is so emblematic of contemporary capitalism.

Persuasive as these readings are, they don’t quite capture that moment of élite domination in the Hayekian market, when the “innovations” of a seeing and knowing few have “forced a new manner of living” on the unseeing and unknowing many, whose function is neither to invest nor amass but to yield, not to the economy or the state but to their superior. It was a moment that Hayek came to know all too well in his personal life.

The great trial of Hayek’s life was his twenty-four-year marriage to Helena (Hella) Fritsch, much of which he spent trying to get out of. Caldwell and Klausinger devote the last three chapters of their biography to the divorce—and for good reason, even if they can’t see it. In Hayek’s anguished bid to end his marriage, we find, just as Freud would have anticipated, the private pathology of the public philosophy, the knowledge problem in practice. That we should discover those pathologies in a marriage is less remarkable than it might seem. From the treatises of antiquity to the novels of Jane Austen to the economics of Thomas Piketty , writers of all sorts have understood the overlap between unions of soul and contracts of need.

Before Hella, there was Lenerl—Helene Bitterlich, a distant cousin whom Hayek fell in love with after the First World War, and who shared his feelings. Sexually inexperienced and hopeless around women, Hayek didn’t make a move. Eventually, another man did, and Lenerl accepted his proposal. Hayek began seeing Hella, and they married in 1926. Within a decade, he confessed to Hella that he had married her on the rebound from Lenerl. He secretly arranged to be with Lenerl at a future point and asked Hella for a divorce. She refused the divorce and any further discussion of it.

After the Second World War, Hayek resumed his efforts. Because he intended to support Hella and their children after the divorce, he resolved to get a higher-paying job in America. For two years, he crisscrossed the Atlantic, sometimes without telling Hella the purpose of his trips. By 1948, he had an offer from the University of Chicago. When he disclosed his plan to Hella, she again refused to grant him a divorce. He had his attorney scour the country’s various divorce laws, including Reno’s. Hella, too, spoke with a lawyer, who made clear that Hayek could not divorce her without her consent.

That Hayek and Hella should have found themselves in the marital equivalent of a Hayekian market—uncertain about each other’s plans, ignorant of each other’s moves, captive to each other’s tacit knowledge—did not give him perspective or pause. Instead, he did what victims, and left-wing critics, of the market often do. In a letter to Hella, he insisted on the objective facts of the situation and asserted the rationality and right of his position. He forgot the first rule of Hayekian economics, that all data is subjective. Hella told him that if he left her, she would have a nervous breakdown, forcing him to return to take care of their children. Then she resumed her silence.

Hayek tried a different tack, drawn from another page of his economic writing. In “The Meaning of Competition,” Hayek had taken issue with the economist George Stigler’s claim that “economic relationships are never perfectly competitive if they involve any personal relationships between economic units.” Hayek countered that the corollary of imperfect knowledge in a competitive market is the trust that we must invest in other individuals, who supply us with goods and services. We depend on our personal connections—and connections to those connections—to send us to the best doctor, restaurant, or hotel. Personal networks, and the reputations that move along them, make markets work and give market actors a competitive edge.

Seeking to alter the terms of his contest with Hella, Hayek leveraged his power and connections to get a better vantage, to see further than Hella and to make the world work for him. He knew he couldn’t take the job at Chicago without resolving his divorce, but he couldn’t put Chicago off indefinitely. With his network of academic friends and private donors, he secured a temporary appointment at the university for the winter quarter of 1950. That bought him time. It also involved considerable subterfuge, toward his wife, friends, and colleagues and supervisors at the London School of Economics, who were led to believe that he would return to Britain.

To get a divorce in America, Hayek needed to establish residence in a state other than Illinois, which had restrictive divorce laws. There could be no whiff of his using the state simply to get the divorce; he’d have to get a job there and give up his appointment at L.S.E. He secured a temporary post at the University of Arkansas for the spring quarter of 1950. He arranged for his mother to move to London, if necessary, to help take care of the children and make sure Hella made no sudden moves.

“The choreography was precise,” Caldwell and Klausinger write. In the course of two days in February, while he was in America, Hayek resigned from L.S.E. and informed Hella that he was leaving her. If she wanted him to support her and the children, she had to grant him the divorce. On the advice of a lawyer, Hayek gathered more evidence of their incompatibility. He hired a handwriting expert from Vienna, who determined, from letters written by Hella and Hayek, that she was “remote from the facts of life” and he “prevails in life and knows how to master it.” In July, they were divorced. A month later, he was married to Lenerl.

The story has a final Hayekian twist. Responding to the Labour government’s drastic devaluation of the pound, Hella’s attorneys had wisely stipulated that Hayek’s alimony payments be set out in dollars. Hayek agreed, though not without sniffing that her lawyers “were interested solely in their fees.” Hayek’s L.S.E. colleague, the economist Lionel Robbins, tussled with him over whether he had got a raw deal. Robbins, once Hayek’s best friend, had sided with Hella during the divorce and become one of her close advisers. He dismissed Hayek’s complaints: “Your conception of justice is very different from mine.” ♦

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