Political-economic systems and the prevention of deviance : a comparison of the criminal sociology of Enrico Ferri and Napoleone Colajanni

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Nineteenth-century Italian criminologists are renowned as pioneers of the scientific (or positivist) study of criminality, rooted in anthropological theories. However, it is important to note that they also laid the groundwork for a sociological approach to deviance. Enrico Ferri is widely regarded as the founder of criminal sociology, while Napoleone Colajanni stands out as the scholar who most extensively developed this perspective. The positivist aspiration to resolve the problem of deviance through a purely scientific approach ultimately proved illusory. In particular, the difficulty of clearly separating scientific facts from political preferences undermined this ambition. The primary divergence between the two aforementioned sociologists lies in their political-economic orientations: Ferri advocated for free trade economies as a means to prevent crime by fostering wealth, whereas Colajanni argued that only a socialist system could truly eradicate poverty and, consequently, criminality. This article compares these two positions from a strictly historiographical perspective, without seeking to endorse either theory. Nonetheless, the core of their debate-despite originating in the late 19th century-continues to offer valuable insights for understanding contemporary aspects of criminal phenomena.