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Neoliberalism and the erosion of the American criminal (in)justice system : a COVID perspective

University of British Columbia

This paper examines the corrosive effects of neoliberalism on the U.S. criminal-justice system in the context of the current COVID-19 pandemic. I argue that neoliberalism, specifically a neoliberal governing rationality, has intensified the harms caused by the criminal-justice system-- harms that are rooted in the histories and legacies of slavery and racial injustice in the United Sates. The pandemic has exacerbated these harms in two ways. First, it has exposed the contradictions inherent in the classifications of labor, specifically in the realm of penal labor, and the impact that these categorizations have on the material conditions of workers and the value of labor. Next, I show how a neoliberal governing rationality has also strengthened the power and reach of the carceral state by reinforcing the myth of public safety that is predicated on tough-on-crime policies. Finally, I argue that the only strategy to confront the harmful effects of neoliberalism is through adopting radical frameworks for change, such as abolition.

Text

2021-04-21

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/77878

Political Science

University of British Columbia

UBCV

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/