The essay aims to explore the criminological work of Erich Fromm, in particular to establish conceptual parameters for the analysis and critique of the traditional theories of the legitimation of the punishment, adopting a dialectical and interdisciplinary approach from the critical theory of society. Fromm, by intertwining criminology (deviance sociology and social control) and psychoanalysis, and by questioning the functions of punishment in contemporary societies from outside the criminal law field, develops and allows a new set of inquiries about the functionality of the criminal justice, particularly regarding the concrete effects of punishment on crime prevention. In this sense, the present investigation is divided into two parts: firstly, the analysis of the epistemological and methodological conditions of the dialogue between criminology and psychoanalysis, and secondly the questioning of official discourses on the justification of punishment in contemporary societies.