Confucius has taught Chinese people tolerance and self-control, especially over crucial interests. But the dignity of the well-educated people is cultivated through a lifetime of learning and self-adjustment. Any makeshift instruction or training is not recommendable. The sensational social effect of a "fistfight cost sheet" may contain some people's violent behavior for a time, but the effect won't last.

The cost of that punch

Li Xierong (people.com.cn): As far as I know, the costs of breaching the law largely contain the following three aspects: first, direct cost including tools, expenses and time for committing a crime; second, opportunity cost in reference to the net profits one might have gained on the presumption of abandonment of a crime; and third, punishment cost or economic losses of the offenders incurred from judicial penalties.

Unfortunately, most people do not have a clear understanding of these costs. The higher one sets his expectations on possible penalties, the less violently he will behave. If someone expects the results of their criminal activities to be favorable, he can hardly rein in the impulse for crime, and thus a crime is bound to happen. The heaviest cost of law violation is undoubtedly the loss of life.

Publishing the costs of fistfights can sound an alarm for potential criminals. It's more effective than acting after the incidents have happened.

Jiang Zhushang (cri.cn): To some extent, the publication of "fistfight costs" is part of a safety education campaign, which can be deemed as a negotiation between the police and the public. The police are supposed to give full consideration to the rights and interests of the public, in a bid to persuade the latter to comply with social order. This requires great wisdom and patience.

Some officials in China overrate moral issues by playing on the public's worship of moral refinement, thus converting law abidance from tangible behavior to sheer moral obligation. It's therefore commendable that the police can place themselves on equal footing with the public and try to convince people that abiding by the law serves everybody's interests.

But reality is another case. Some violent criminals escape punishment and tax evaders make a profit, driving the public's call for harsher action. This new anti-public violence proposal will help with social conduct.

Wang Qi (Liaoning Legal News): Calculating the costs of a fistfight is not just simple math; it helps to promote the law and also signals a vital shift in law enforcement efforts from relying only on severe crackdowns to attaching equal importance to both prevention and punishment.

Of course it's by no means a miracle cure for all criminals, especially those picking fights with others. It may be even more impressive to include the costs of administration and law enforcement and the emotional sufferings of family members into the equation.

Gao Fusheng (hlj.red.cn): The "fistfight cost sheet" makes it clear how deep one has to reach into his pocket if he acts rashly. This says nothing of the mental and physical pain of the wounded and the emotional suffering of a fighter's family. Those prone to violent outbursts will think twice when considering the costs involved.

This new approach has set a good example of integrating economic theories with worldly life. We may be able to learn from it and try the same method in other aspects of social life.