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Here's your Shmoop du jour, brought to you by Enrico Ferri. Don't call him "Rico."

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Trust us, you'll regret it.

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Which of the following best describes the positive school of criminal law?

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(A) isn't hard to eliminate, because it's not even discussed in the passage.

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We doubt that anybody would've taken Ferri seriously if he had suggested that everybody

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simply let criminals... do their thing.

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We don't have to think too hard to get rid of answer (D) either. It's nice to think

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about crime one day becoming nonexistent...

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But this serene future seems highly unlikely given--you know--human nature.

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This sunny outlook isn't discussed in the passage at all, making choice (D) is a definite no.

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Though Ferri does mention this pro-punishment tactic in the passage, it's certainly not

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what he'd label as "positive."

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We can cross out choice (C).

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Answer (D) does the best job of encapsulating Ferri's idea.

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He thinks we should combine old-school practices with new understandings of human behavior

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to come up with a way of dealing with criminals that's more "positive."

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Note: This is different than only being positive toward criminals. "Great job robbing that

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bank yesterday! Loved how you shot the teller in the leg when she tried to sound the alarm!"

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