In the book, Gilmore details the political calculations of politicians seeking power and legitimacy (in a time when the state was under attack) by making prison investment deals with private corporations. In line with the neoliberal turn, short-term economic gains were prioritized under the banner of market fundamentalism, and the popularity of tough-on-crime ideology criminalized “persons who correspond demographically to those squeezed out of restructured labor markets” (2007). These different logics converge to uphold a system that prioritizes punitive solutions to social problems — one that is deeply embedded in the wider social fabric of California and beyond.
Closing thoughts
Under mass incarceration, the prison has become a catchall for dealing with the myriad social problems under neoliberalism in the United States. As the state turned from welfarist to punitive, poverty and drug use are increasingly managed through means of criminalization. Since the 1980s, the prison also became a lucrative investment opportunity for private interests — ranging from the sale of government bonds to build prisons to the assemblage of firms known as the prison industrial complex (PIC) who also capitalize on servicing mass incarceration. As of 2023, around 1.68 million people are incarcerated in the United States, according to recent data reported by the Statista Research Department. Moreover, the country spends upwards of $80 billion a year on the prison system (Donna Murch, Assata Taught Me, 2022).
Mass incarceration continues to have significant impacts on the social fabric of communities across the United States. Incarceration rates are so high that they disrupt generations of families as well as entire neighborhoods (Summary and Analysis of The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, 2016). Moreover, the increased police presence and levels of surveillance in poor and minority communities as a result of the “War on Drugs” has also been criticized by activists and scholars of mass incarceration. They argue that mass incarceration perpetuates poverty, violence, drug use, and other social problems because people with a criminal record are subsequently barred from many employment opportunities.
Therefore, despite the enduring prevalence of mass incarceration today, there are myriad scholars, organizations, and grassroots efforts involved in decarceration. They advocate for decreasing reliance on the carceral system through reduced police funding, and providing more alternatives to prison sentences through things like bail reform — particularly in the case of nonviolent offenses. A significant roster of figures including Angela Davis, Ruth Wilson Gilmore, and Mariame Kaba believe that investing in community resources such as education, drug rehabilitation support, and other social services would help to alleviate the underlying causes of crime (rather than perpetuating them, as is the case with the carceral system). While mass incarceration deeply impacts American society, the works of proponents of decarceration envision a future where fewer people are behind bars.
Further reading on Perlego
Gruber, A. (2020). The Feminist War on Crime. University of California Press. Available at: https://www.perlego.com/book/1388929/the-feminist-war-on-crime-the-unexpected-role-of-womens-liberation-in-mass-incarceration-pdf
Hackworth, J. (2014). The Neoliberal City. Cornell University Press. Available at: https://www.perlego.com/book/534266/the-neoliberal-city-governance-ideology-and-development-in-american-urbanism-pdf
Hinton, E. (2016). From the War on Poverty to the War on Crime. Harvard University Press. Available at: https://www.perlego.com/book/1133812/from-the-war-on-poverty-to-the-war-on-crime-the-making-of-mass-incarceration-in-america-pdf
Muñiz, A. (2015). Police, Power, and the Production of Racial Boundaries. Rutgers University Press. Available at: https://www.perlego.com/book/400721/police-power-and-the-production-of-racial-boundaries-pdf
Shakur, A. (2016). Assata: An Autobiography. Zed Books. Available at: https://www.perlego.com/book/2011983/assata-an-autobiography-pdf
Smith, N. (2005). The New Urban Frontier. Routledge. Available at: https://www.perlego.com/book/1603229/the-new-urban-frontier-gentrification-and-the-revanchist-city-pdf