The prison industry (was Re: Is French Philosopy a load of old tosh?)

Doug Henwood <dhenwood@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> When I first joined this list I asked if any Foucauldian (or
> is it Foucaultian?) had written on the evolution of the U.S.
> "criminal justice" system, which long ago left behind liberal
> notions of reformation for pure brutality, warehousing,
> and revenge. We now have crowds baying for blood outside
> prisons on execution nights (though the prisoner is inside,
> viewed only by a handful of lucky guests). No one answered.
> I'll try again.

One book that comes to mind immediately is "Crime Control as
Industry: Towards Gulags, Western Style?" by Nils Christie,
the dean of Scandinavian humane criminologists (Routledge, 1994).
Truly strong stuff, and such that few European Foucaultians
probably think about it.

--
"I have tried too, in my time, to be a philosopher; but, I don't
know how, cheerfulness was always breaking in." --Oliver Edwards
T P Uschanov tuschano@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx +358 (0)40 584 2720
Visit my home page! http://www.helsinki.fi/~tuschano/

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