If you’ve ever been in a school setting, you’ve probably heard kids referencing the Geneva Convention, deeming collective punishment a war crime. While it is true under the law, that doesn’t bar teachers from taking something away from the whole class or parents taking something away from all of their kids because of the actions of one. On an interpersonal level, collective punishment is not a war crime, nor is it a regular crime. 

The drawback of collective punishment is that it almost always breeds resentment. The person who didn’t do anything won’t see the error of their ways, because their ways had no mistake. They will just be angry at the person who did the thing worthy of being punished. It’s all well and good if one anonymous kid in a classroom ruined something for everybody, but what if it’s someone’s brother or sister who ruined their chance to go on vacation?