I was spanked as a child and don't believe it did me a bit of good. All it did was make me resentful.
I personally believe that spanking will set the child up to believe that violence is a good way to resolve a problem. I believe in gentle parenting (no physical discipline). I believe that you can effectively discipline a child (of any temperment) without using physical punishment. This starts early and requires constant and firm communication between parent and child and requires a clear set of expectations in terms of behavior, etc.
Gentle parenting is also a large part of attachment parenting, which I am also finding attractive as a method for raising independent, secure children.
I do not believe in cajoling, bribing, or any of the other 'parents as friends' systems of discipline. I believe in stating consequences and following through.
I come in contact with a lot of children these days (my friends are having babies like it's going out of style). Those parents that spank and/or try to be 'friends' to their children have brats that are unpleasant to be around, and as a result we do not associate with those friends when the children are involved in the outing. Those parents that set clear expectations and follow through with stated consequences all have children that are a joy to be around - they are well behaved and happy. They know what is expected of them and they follow through.
Just another point of view for discussion...
Also check out
http://www.nospank.net/stang2.htm. Also check out the articles in the main pages - many are from respected scholarly and educational journals.