Sherry Chandler » Mass Incarceration
Mass Incarceration
At Corrente, FrenchDoc talks about an article by Bruce Western in the Boston Review. Bruce Western is the author of Punishment and Inequality in America (Russell Sage Foundation, 2007):
As he did in his book, Western then explains that mass incarceration corresponds to the mass deindustrialization of the United States (similar developments followed in Western Europe). Mass incarceration was then used as a tool of management of the consequences of this economic reality. Where Western Europe has welfare systems and extensive safety nets, the United States managed the dislocations brought about by the end of the industrial era in Western countries.
Incarceration has become the solution to all sorts of social ills beyond criminality: mental illness, drug use, urban housing management failures, economic policies that slashed spendings on social services, the end of industrial employment.
Culturally, this was reinforced by the conservative “tough on crime” rhetoric and the invention (not based on reality) of the “superpredator” (the young - implictly black - young criminal without a social conscience who could not be rehabilitated but could only be thrown in prison for as long as possible). The only functions of incarceration became deterrence (not working) and neutralization (as in crimes get committed in prison instead of outside). The policies of the war on drugs increased the length of time inmates spent in prison, especially mandatory minimum sentencing.
But it didn’t work, because, according to Western, mass incarceration is based on three fallacies:
- The fallacy of “us versus them”
- The fallacy of personal defect
- The fallacy of the free market
Read this excellent long post and the original Western article to learn more about why these ways of thinking are mistaken and what they’ve cost us.
Then re-read the Camayd-Freixas article about ICE’s determination to incarcerate rather than deport the illegal workers from Postville.
Possibly related posts:
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
2 Comments
1. Max replies at 31st July 2008, 10:01 am :
Good Article.
I agree that much can and needs to be done about “locking em up and throwing the keys away”.
Like many other things, this has gotten wrapped up in Politics. The SCARED party wants extreme measures implemented even to the point of executing innocent people. (I’ve actually heard some people say its ok to execute an innocent person every now and then)
This should be taken out of the politcical arena, and let those that know how to deal with human beings get this expensive problem on a better track.
2. sherry replies at 1st August 2008, 12:40 pm :
Max, you make a telling point, referring to the SCARED party. Like Michael Moore or not, and sometimes I do and sometimes I don’t, I think he nailed it in his movie Bowling for Columbine. We in the United States have all become scared to death (and I use that term on purpose) of one another. Nowadays, of course, our government wants us to be afraid. We’re more manageable that way.
Leave a comment