Durkheim makes clear throughout his work on punishment that he sees its function in promoting social solidarity as being achieved through the affirmation of values, not through control or prevention of crime. He allows that punishment is an ineffective way of preventing crime, but sees its importance as allowing expression of sentiments of outrage consequent upon the commission of a crime. Punishment is, he says, a 'passionate reaction' to crime. His expressive view of punishment thus emphasizes the censure that is highlighted in the most recent variants of retributionizes the pronouncement of a punishment affirms that the rule violated is important, and that people are right to feel outraged by the crime. The target of punishment is for Durkheim, the whole society, rather than just the offender actual or potential.