Governing Through Crime

How the War on Crime Transformed American Democracy and Created a Culture of Fear

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Crimes & Criminals, Criminology, Reference & Language, Law, History, Americas, United States
Cover of the book Governing Through Crime by Jonathan Simon, Oxford University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Jonathan Simon ISBN: 9780199884568
Publisher: Oxford University Press Publication: February 3, 2007
Imprint: Oxford University Press Language: English
Author: Jonathan Simon
ISBN: 9780199884568
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication: February 3, 2007
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Language: English

Across America today gated communities sprawl out from urban centers, employers enforce mandatory drug testing, and schools screen students with metal detectors. Social problems ranging from welfare dependency to educational inequality have been reconceptualized as crimes, with an attendant focus on assigning fault and imposing consequences. Even before the recent terrorist attacks, non-citizen residents had become subject to an increasingly harsh regime of detention and deportation, and prospective employees subjected to background checks. How and when did our everyday world become dominated by fear, every citizen treated as a potential criminal? In this startlingly original work, Jonathan Simon traces this pattern back to the collapse of the New Deal approach to governing during the 1960s when declining confidence in expert-guided government policies sent political leaders searching for new models of governance. The War on Crime offered a ready solution to their problem: politicians set agendas by drawing analogies to crime and redefined the ideal citizen as a crime victim, one whose vulnerabilities opened the door to overweening government intervention. By the 1980s, this transformation of the core powers of government had spilled over into the institutions that govern daily life. Soon our schools, our families, our workplaces, and our residential communities were being governed through crime. This powerful work concludes with a call for passive citizens to become engaged partners in the management of risk and the treatment of social ills. Only by coming together to produce security, can we free ourselves from a logic of domination by others, and from the fear that currently rules our everyday life.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Across America today gated communities sprawl out from urban centers, employers enforce mandatory drug testing, and schools screen students with metal detectors. Social problems ranging from welfare dependency to educational inequality have been reconceptualized as crimes, with an attendant focus on assigning fault and imposing consequences. Even before the recent terrorist attacks, non-citizen residents had become subject to an increasingly harsh regime of detention and deportation, and prospective employees subjected to background checks. How and when did our everyday world become dominated by fear, every citizen treated as a potential criminal? In this startlingly original work, Jonathan Simon traces this pattern back to the collapse of the New Deal approach to governing during the 1960s when declining confidence in expert-guided government policies sent political leaders searching for new models of governance. The War on Crime offered a ready solution to their problem: politicians set agendas by drawing analogies to crime and redefined the ideal citizen as a crime victim, one whose vulnerabilities opened the door to overweening government intervention. By the 1980s, this transformation of the core powers of government had spilled over into the institutions that govern daily life. Soon our schools, our families, our workplaces, and our residential communities were being governed through crime. This powerful work concludes with a call for passive citizens to become engaged partners in the management of risk and the treatment of social ills. Only by coming together to produce security, can we free ourselves from a logic of domination by others, and from the fear that currently rules our everyday life.

More books from Oxford University Press

Cover of the book Protecting the Ozone Layer by Jonathan Simon
Cover of the book Overcoming the Odds by Jonathan Simon
Cover of the book Prodigal Nation by Jonathan Simon
Cover of the book Reporting from Washington by Jonathan Simon
Cover of the book Copyright's Paradox by Jonathan Simon
Cover of the book Bilingualism and Bilingual Deaf Education by Jonathan Simon
Cover of the book The Press Effect by Jonathan Simon
Cover of the book 20 Things to Know about Deep Brain Stimulation by Jonathan Simon
Cover of the book Bouncing Back by Jonathan Simon
Cover of the book War and Peace in Somalia by Jonathan Simon
Cover of the book Writings on Music, 1965-2000 by Jonathan Simon
Cover of the book Evil Lords by Jonathan Simon
Cover of the book Military Strategy: A Very Short Introduction by Jonathan Simon
Cover of the book The Zen Canon by Jonathan Simon
Cover of the book From Paris to Peoria by Jonathan Simon
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy