Kant on punishment and poverty

Abstract

AbstractI offer a Kantian argument for the idea that the state lacks the authority to punish neglected, impoverished citizens when they commit crimes to cope with that neglect. Given Kant's own commitments to the value of external freedom and the state's obligation to ensure it, there is no reason a Kantian state can claim authority to punish an impoverished citizen while also failing in significant ways to protect her external freedom.