[SeekAndFind]

The biblical injunction about a “tooth for a tooth” seems to be the philosophy underlying this call for “proportionality.”  But this, surely, is insufficient.  That would not be fully “proportional” to the damage inflicted.  A steals a car from B.  If the punishment is proportional in this sense, all B must do in return when he is caught is return it to A.  But wait.  There is something amiss in this scenario.  If A is apprehended by the police, he is no worse off than before he committed this crime.  He must only return B’s vehicle to him, not give him one of his own.  If not brought to the bar of justice, B keeps his booty.  If he is arrested 50% of the time, the statistically expected value of his depredations is one half of whatever he seizes.  This is nothing but a recipe to encourage theft.  And it does not sound very “proportionate” at all.

[HartleyMBaldwin]

A steals a car from B. If the punishment is proportional in this sense, all B must do in return when he is caught is return it to A.

I think you got A and B reversed in the second sentence there.

[Flatus I. Maximus]

“Proportionality” is BS. It’s treating war as a sport; fighting it by Marquess of Queensberry rules. War is not a contest. It’s about SURVIVAL. If someone attacks you, you don’t pull your punches fighting back. You give them such a hard beat-down that they are NEVER a threat to you again, either because they’re terrified by the very thought of provoking your anger or they’re physically unable to be a threat ever again.

Doing anything less is suicidally stupid.

[markoman]

The response can’t be proportionate, it has to be
prohibitive.

Marko

[Ancesthntr]

Proportionate responses never work to deter an enemy from trying again later.

In WW1, the Allied powers dished out roughly the same amount of munitions and lethality against the Germans as the Germans did to the Allies. But Germany wasn’t occupied after the war, merely impoverished. 15 years later, about 1/3 of them chose Hitler to lead them, and the rest is rather gruesome history. However, in WW2, the Allies gave considerably more than they received, and occupied Germany after the carnage stopped. Notice that Germany hasn’t started up anything for the last 79 years - showing the wisdom of a NON-proportional response.