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Notes -
Probably, because the idea underlying Scott's belief that imprisoning people is equivalent to torturing children is that those people are blank slates whose actions can be >80% (but for convenience just round up to 100%) attributed to socioeconomic factors and "um, purely socioeconomic factors" and so they have no real moral culpability for their crimes. But that sounds too insane to state directly outside of rationalist circles so you have to reach for an argument that normies are willing to consider. I agree that 2014 Scott would have been a lot less sloppy.
Hasn't that been the "normie" and popular position for the past 10-15 years? It's long seemed a radical opinion with no public support to entertain the concept of moral culpability.
In blue tribe areas maybe, but support for punishment (as opposed to rehabilitation) is still quite strong in red and purple areas IME.
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