NCJ Number
168915
Journal
New England Journal on Criminal and Civil Confinement Volume: 23 Issue: 1 Dated: (Winter 1997) Pages: 183-237
Date Published
1997
Length
55 pages
Annotation
This paper shows an historical link between capital and the confinement of blacks in the United States by highlighting parallels between the late 19th century South, in which the control system was blatantly racist and profit-driven, and the late 20th century, in which the system of criminal justice and residential segregation is more subtle in its racism and profiteering.
Abstract
In addition, through an analysis of legislation and court decisions, the author argues that an essential role of the state's justice system is to protect the capital interests of a dominant economic class through the oppression and confinement of a marginalized population. Within the context of radical criminology, there are three fundamental assertions that support this analysis. First, the state controls marginalized groups by casting them as deviant populations in need of confinement. Second, this control is essential to the maintenance of the social climate necessary for capital accumulation. Finally, the mode of control chosen by the state will change with and be dependent on the dominant mode of production at that time. By portraying the marginalized group as a dangerous population, the state is effectively able to legitimize its use of the legal system as the means by which to foster capital accumulation. The disproportionate incarceration of blacks in the United States and its resulting commerce will continue without drastic changes to the existing economic and class structure of American society. 380 footnotes