Charles Eliot Silberman (January 31, 1925 – February 5, 2011) was an American journalist and author. Silberman was born in

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

. After service in the Pacific during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he gained a B.A. in Economics from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 1946 and also undertook graduate studies at Columbia. Subsequently, he taught at Columbia and

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a Public university, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...

before joining ''

Fortune Fortune may refer to: General * Fortuna or Fortune, the Roman goddess of luck * Luck * Wealth * Fate * Fortune, a prediction made in fortune-telling * Fortune, in a fortune cookie Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Fortune'' (19 ...

'' magazine in 1953 where he remained until the early 1970s. He was the author of ''Criminal Violence, Criminal Justice'' (1978), a study of crime and the American

criminal justice system Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the rehabilitation of offenders, preventing other ...

. Silberman used econometric methods to measure the effectiveness in terms of criminal

deterrence Deterrence may refer to: * Deterrence theory, a theory of war, especially regarding nuclear weapons * Deterrence (penology), a theory of justice * Deterrence (psychology) Deterrence in relation to criminal offending is the idea or penology, t ...

of two factors: the degree of punishment; and the probability of apprehension. A simple "expected loss" model would predict that deterrent effect would depend only on the result of multiplying the penalty by the probability of it occurring. Silberman concluded that contrary to this model, the likelihood of punishment had a greater effect in most situations. Silberman also stated, "Crime does more than expose the weakness in

social relationships A social relation is the fundamental unit of analysis within the social sciences, and describes any voluntary or involuntary interpersonal relationship between two or more conspecifics within and/or between groups. The group can be a language or ...

; it undermines the

social order The term social order can be used in two senses: In the first sense, it refers to a particular system of social structures and institutions. Examples are the ancient, the feudal, and the capitalist social order. In the second sense, social orde ...

itself, by destroying the assumptions on which it is based." Silberman's book ''Crisis in the Classroom: The Remaking of American Education'' is regarded as one of the leading investigations into and critiques of the performance of the American educational system and has been praised for its scope and insight. He was also the author of ''Crisis in Black and White'' and ''A Certain People: American Jews and Their Lives Today''. Silberman died on February 5, 2011, in

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in and the county seat of Sarasota County, Florida, United States. It is located in Southwest Florida, the southern end of the Tampa Bay area, and north of Fort Myers, Florida, Fort Myers and Punta Gorda, Florida, Punta Gord ...

, aged 86. He had four sons and seven grandchildren.

Awards

* 1966

Gerald Loeb Award The Gerald Loeb Awards, also referred to as the Gerald Loeb Awards for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism, is a recognition of excellence in journalism, especially in the fields of business, finance and the economy. The award was e ...

for Magazines for "Technology and the Labor Market"

References

1925 births 2011 deaths Columbia College (New York) alumni American male journalists Journalists from New York City Journalists from Iowa Writers from Des Moines, Iowa Gerald Loeb Award winners for Magazines American military personnel of World War II {{US-academic-bio-stub