Abstract: Punishment is an extremely universal phenomenon in social practice. Presently arguments on punishment are getting more and more,focusing on the justice of punishment. Generally there are two answers to the question:the retributive theory and utilitarianism. This paper points out that absolute retributive theory and utilitarianism are not the suitable ways to guarantee the justice of punishment,that the justice of punishment can only be realized by relying on multi-theories that are based on reality to reach a balance between the retributive theory and utilitarianism.

Key words: punishment, retributive theory, utilitarianism, multi-theories