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Week 2a Readings
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Week 2a: Theories of Punishment
Reading:
In Punishment and Modern Society, David Garland attempts to expose the depth and complexity of punishment as a social institution, placing the mechanisms of punishment (i.e., the prison) as the central objects in the study of social theory. Chapter 1 begins with an overview of punishment and its role in modern society, from how we take punishment structures for granted, to the chronic, public nature of crime, as well as the failing nature of the prison as a social institution. Garland states the importance of social theory in understanding penality, specifically how penologists utilize social theory to analyze and understand these and other key issues that pertain to the prison and other forms of punishment. There is no common theoretical perspective held by penologists; in fact, Punishment and Modern Society delves into several perspectives (i.e., Durheimian, Marxist, the work of Foucault, and the work of Elias).
Chapters 2 and 3 of Punishment and Modern Society focus on the Durkheimian themes that can be useful in understanding the use of punishment. Garland begins (Chapter 2) with an overview of Durkheim’s sociology (complete with a treatment of The Division of Labor in Society, Durkheim’s most renowned work). Garland also provides a discussion of the “Two Laws of Penal Evolution,” whereby Durkheim states that although penal methods may change over time, the underlying mechanisms and functions of punishment remain constant. Garland concludes Chapter 2 with a discussion of Durkheim’s view of the role of punishment in moral education. This perspective presents punishment mechanisms as moral phenomena, as these mechanisms contain moral content and have moralizing social effects. In Chapter 3, Garland takes the Durkheimian themes presented in Chapter 2 and reworks them in light of the current state of crime in society. Some questions/issues to consider when reading Chapter 3 include: (1) How does authority impact punishment?; (2) How do the passions of citizens and the sentiments of the public impact punishment?; and, (3) Is society demoralized by the current state of punishment in society?
Chapters 4 and 5 of Punishment and Modern Society provide the reader with an overview of the economic theory of punishment. These chapters focus on the work of Rusche and Kirchheimer, writers that analyzed the use of punishment from a Marxist perspective. Chapter 4 begins with an introduction to the Marxist approach; furthermore, the reader is provided with an overview of Rusche and Kirchheimer’s framework. Their framework is the basis of the economic model utilized by Blomberg and Lucken throughout American Penology. Using this model, Garland traces the history of penal reforms as discussed by Rusche and Kirchheimer in their work, from the Middle Ages through the Industrial Revolution. In Chapter 5, Garland presents several variations of the Marxist perspective of punishment. Included are discussions of a multi-dimensional economic perspective. For example, whereas Rusche and Kirchheimer focus on the economics of punishment strategies, the discussions contained in Chapter 5 broaden the economic model to include culture and politics.
Chapters 6 and 7 of Punishment and Modern Society focus on the penal theory/theories of Foucault. The work of Foucault is in concord with that of the multi-factor approach discussed in Chapter 1 of Blomberg and Lucken’s American Penology. Foucault takes a functional AND critical approach in his analysis of corporal punishment methods and the birth of the prison. In Chapter 6, Many parallels can be drawn between Garland’s depiction of Foucault’s writings and the readings pertaining to the history of punishment (Week 1 and 2); however, as with Blomberg and Lucken’s American Penology, Garland’s discussion of Foucault’s work aids the reader in utilizing historical details to understand the economic and progressive nature of punishment throughout history. In Chapter 7, Garland states that Foucault’s work suffers from the same shortcoming as Durkheimian and Marxist interpretations in that it tends to be too simplistic/one-dimensional. Some specific criticisms include a lack of substantial argument for explanations given, inattention to legal and cultural determinants of punishment, and an overestimation of the nature of political forces that shape punishment regimes.
The reading by Sparks (Chapter 1 in Blomberg and Cohen’s edited volume) primes the reader with several of the themes discussed in the first part of Garland’s Punishment and Modern Society. In taking a view similar to the arguments made by Garland in regards to the applicability of classic penal theory to today’s punishment/correctional regimes, Sparks speaks bleakly of the ability for penal theory to elucidate penologists in the era of globalization and growth in technology. Similarly, Feeley and Simon (Chapter 3 in Blomberg and Cohen’s edited volume) do not portend that classic explanations are satisfactory. Instead, they argue that current penality can only be understood in management and administrative terms, as the penal pendulum has shifted from a client-centered/treatment focus to a “get-tough” approach. |