--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The crime should be punished no matter…" description: "\"The crime should be punished no matter whether poverty or wealth caused it to occur, because the crime is wrong.\" — Ernest Van den Haag" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bed/ernest-van-den-haag-66295_crime_the-crime-should-be-punished-no-matter-w_2647402.png" --- # The crime should be punished no matter whether poverty or… ![“The crime should be punished no matter whether poverty or wealth caused it to occur, because the crime is wrong.” quote by Ernest Van den Haag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bed/ernest-van-den-haag-66295_crime_the-crime-should-be-punished-no-matter-w_2647402.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bed/ernest-van-den-haag-66295_crime_the-crime-should-be-punished-no-matter-w_2647402.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bed/ernest-van-den-haag-66295_crime_the-crime-should-be-punished-no-matter-w_2647402.png) > “The crime should be punished no matter whether poverty or wealth caused it to occur, because the crime is wrong.” Ernest Van den Haag ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Crimes are inherently wrong regardless of the perpetrator's socioeconomic status; moral judgment is independent of cause. **In simple terms:** Crime is wrong no matter the cause. Key Takeaway Uphold justice without bias. Themes ethics law social justice Mood serious reflective Type legal philosophical When to use this quote - courtrooms - policy debates - education Key Concepts moral absolutism inequality Questions to Reflect On - How to balance empathy with accountability? - Can socioeconomic factors be mitigated? A Different Perspective Complex causes may affect sentencing fairness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poverty/) [Punishment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/punishment/) [Wealth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wealth/) ## Related quotes > [While crime is punished it yet increases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/while-crime-is-punished-it-yet-increases/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Crime is not punished as an offense against God, but as prejudicial to society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-anthony-froude/crime-is-not-punished-as-an-offense-against-god-but-as-prejudicial-to/) [James Anthony Froude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-anthony-froude/) > [Justice doesn't only mean that the people who commit crime are punished. It also means that we can never give up seeking the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/justice-doesn-t-only-mean-that-the-people-who-commit-crime-are/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) > [If you commit a crime , it is only natural you get punished](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-commit-a-crime-it-is-only-natural-you-get-punished/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“You're NOT Norway!!! You'll never BE Norway!!! And BECAUSE of your not being Norway, you will be CRUELLY and UNFORGIVINGLY PUNISHED!!!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denmark/you-re-not-norway-you-ll-never-be-norway-and-because-of-your-not/) Denmark > [“There always comes a time in history when the person who dares to say that two and two make four is punished by death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/there-always-comes-a-time-in-history-when-the-person-who-dares-to-say/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [We had a rule in the school that when you're punished, you carry out the punishment and then complain, which I felt was absolutely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/we-had-a-rule-in-the-school-that-when-you-re-punished-you-carry-out/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [Love is a punishment. We are punished for not having been strong enough to remain alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marguerite-yourcenar/love-is-a-punishment-we-are-punished-for-not-having-been-strong/) [Marguerite Yourcenar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marguerite-yourcenar/) > [A person who has been punished is not thereby simply less inclined to behave in a given way; at best, he learns how to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-person-who-has-been-punished-is-not-thereby-simply-less-inclined-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Relationships don't thrive because the guilty are punished but because the innocent are merciful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/relationships-don-t-thrive-because-the-guilty-are-punished-but/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [“We are leading as thorough a study of 'alienation's positive pole' as of its negative pole. As a consequence of our diagnosis of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-mcdonough/we-are-leading-as-thorough-a-study-of-alienation-s-positive-pole-as/) [Tom McDonough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-mcdonough/) > [The opposite of poverty is not wealth. I don't believe that. I actually think, in too many places, the opposite of poverty is justice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-stevenson/the-opposite-of-poverty-is-not-wealth-i-don-t-believe-that-i-actually/) [Bryan Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-stevenson/) > [“Most people in the Great Britain of (Adam) Smith's day lived in what most of us would regard as poverty. Hundreds of thousands were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-z-muller/most-people-in-the-great-britain-of-adam-smith-s-day-lived-in-what/) [Jerry Z. Muller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-z-muller/) > [Devotees are not impressed by the poverty or wealth in material sense in any way; what impresses is devotion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/radhanath-swami/devotees-are-not-impressed-by-the-poverty-or-wealth-in-material-sense/) [Radhanath Swami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/radhanath-swami/) > [It is pretty hard to tell what does bring happiness; poverty and wealth have both failed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kin-hubbard/it-is-pretty-hard-to-tell-what-does-bring-happiness-poverty-and/) [Kin Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kin-hubbard/) ## More by Ernest Van den Haag > [Asked to make a list of the men who have most dominated the thinking of the modern world, many educated people would name Freud,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-van-den-haag/asked-to-make-a-list-of-the-men-who-have-most-dominated-the-thinking/) Ernest Van den Haag > [Although I am a strong political conservative, I now believe that the costs of our fruitless struggle against illegal drugs are not worth the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-van-den-haag/although-i-am-a-strong-political-conservative-i-now-believe-that-the/) Ernest Van den Haag > [I am reminded of a colleague who reiterated all my homosexual patients are quite sick - to which I finally replied so are all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-van-den-haag/i-am-reminded-of-a-colleague-who-reiterated-all-my-homosexual/) Ernest Van den Haag Explore all 4 Ernest Van den Haag quotes ## More Crime quotes > [Joking about violence is not funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/perez-hilton/joking-about-violence-is-not-funny/) [Perez Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/perez-hilton/) > [“Crime and punishment can be summed up in two classifications: there are bad people and there are people who get into bad situations. 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I don't want to make the same mistakes the criminals do! ;)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/taking-notes-while-watching-forensic-files-and-snapped-i-don-t-want/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [A man could be a lover and defender of the wilderness without ever in his lifetime leaving the boundaries of asphalt, powerlines, and right-angled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/a-man-could-be-a-lover-and-defender-of-the-wilderness-without-ever-in/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Nations sometimes flourish by denying the crimes that brought them into being. 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