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In this article, we seek to trace the contours of a semantic problem that appears to place limits on the evolution of the criminal justice system by contributing to the marginalization of “positive” sanctions. In this context, we question the impact of certain “negative” ideas supported by the system’s self-referential identity descriptions, which limit the function of the criminal law to the notion of protection of society. We hypothesize that this semantic tendency, owing to its tone of urgency and necessity, will tend to reproduce the system’s dominant operations by providing the guidance of hostile values – and will, in this way, prevent the emergence of more positive legal reform in a system capable of self-correction and learning.