Cesare Bonesana Beccaria (1738-1794) was a prominent Italian criminologist and economist. Born in Milan to an aristocratic family, Cesare was educated at a Jesuit school in Parma and received a law degree from the University of Pavia in 1758. Beccaria then returned to Milan and became involved in literary and intellectual societies associated with the Enlightenment.

After publishing a small pamphlet on monetary reform in 1762, Beccaria began to write a critical study of criminal law at the suggestion of Count Pietro Verri. This work, Dei delitti e delle pene (On Crimes and Punishment), was published anonymously in 1764 and met with immediate success, appearing in English, French, German, Spanish, Dutch, and American editions during the next decade. In 1768, Beccaria was appointed professor of economics and commerce at the Palatine School in Milan, and in 1771 he assumed a position on the Supreme Economic Council of Milan. He remained a public official for the remainder of his life.

On Crimes and Punishment advanced the first systematic treatment of criminology and criminal punishment based on several fundamental concepts of modern political theory. First, Beccaria employed the idea of a social contract to account for the origin of political authority. According to Beccaria, each person sacrifices a limited amount of liberty for the purpose of establishing civil government. Laws are created under the terms of the social contract to maintain social order and to protect the liberty of the members of the community. However, Beccaria stressed that while the government is authorized to punish those who transgress the laws, the only legitimate use of punishment is to defend the liberty of society as a whole against individual transgressors. Employing punishment to coerce confessions, intimidate opponents, and consolidate political power is illegitimate and unjust.

Second, Beccaria also adopted the principle, popularized in utilitarianism, that "the greatest happiness of the greatest number" is the only criterion to be used for evaluating laws and social policy. Beccaria's commitment to social reform motivated his critique of barbaric and inhumane punishment. Because the primary purpose of punishment is to ensure the continued existence of society, laws and punishments carried out through the arbitrary use of power must be eliminated because they threaten the happiness of individual members of society. Consequently, Beccaria argued that torture and capital punishment, especially when used in response to minor offenses, undermine respect for legitimate authority.

In addition, Beccaria held that deterrence rather than retribution should be the aim of punishment. Mere retribution is neither useful nor necessary for the protection of society. The chief problem that Beccaria identified in the administration of justice was the inconsistency and inequality of sentencing, due primarily to the extensive discretionary powers of judges. Beccaria suggested that laws should clearly define crimes and that judges should be restricted to determining only whether a person has or has not violated the law. Once a person has been found guilty, Beccaria believed that punishment should be applied quickly as it is the swift certainty of its application that best deters others. Finally, Beccaria argued that punishment should be proportional to the gravity of the offense, excluding such severe punishments as torture and capital punishment. Even the most serious of criminal offenses, Beccaria insisted, ought to be punished by long-term imprisonment rather than by death. Ultimately, Beccaria's goal of penal reform was an expression of his desire to protect "the rights of man."

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