Punishment and Inequality in America - Essay Example

Punishment and Inequality in America Western (2006) is addressing a very important issue which has become an ignored issue in the American society. He addresses the history of incarceration and how it has evolved over time, becoming a monster that threatens to destroy the society. However, in particular, Western is addressing the effect of the prison boom which started in the early 1960s during the time when there was increasing push for civil rights by the minorities especially the African American minorities. He argues that this boom led to a change in attitude by policy makers who shifted from addressing the problem of crime as a social issue needing the criminal to be rehabilitated, to a new attitude where the criminal was views as a problem to be punished and mostly, to be separated from the rest of the community. Western argues that the prison boom came up at the expense of those who are economically and politically marginalised and this was mostly the African American people. Western puts forward a very strong case for these claims by looking at the history of the matter and how it has trended. Official statistics also seem to support what Western is talking about. For instance, statistic s show that since the1960s, the number of prisoners who have not education has increased much faster as compared to the number of those with economic power. Western is at the same time able to connect two important factors which include poverty, racial and ethnic minorities etc (Kenworthy, 1–16). For instance, as the number of lowly educated people has continued to dominate the incarceration centres, this has continued to be more in African Americans as compared to Latinos, and more in Latinos as compared to Caucasians. In fact, according to statistics quoted by Western, younger black people are seven times more likely to go to prison compared to white people. This is evidenced by a comparison between the number of young African American people in prison compare do their white counterparts and in relation to the ratios in the population. Western quotes that compared to the ratio of African Americans and whites in the population on, the number of African Americans in prisons compared the same of white people is alarmingly high. Western is able to connect poverty to s activity and the levels of incarceration, both in theory and as supported by hard statistics. He argues that that poor members of the society are more likely to participate in criminal activities, first, due to the fact hat they have little, if anything to lose if they are caught by the long arm of the law, and secondly, because they seen this as an alterative to solve their economic issues. Most of the people in prisons are involved in economic related crimes such as gang activity, robbery, theft etc. As a result, as long as criminal activity is associated with economic status, having a prison system that fails to recognize this will only lead to what Western is talking about. The modern law breaker is looked at with scorn and hatred and as an enemy who must be severely punished. This new attitude towards the offenders has not only led to increased levels of law breaking but as Western postulates, has led to the following factors; More Economically Disoriented Post Prison Lives Western’s argument that the prison boom has lead to a situation where the prisons and jails have become place of hard punishment as opposed to places of rehabilitations. As a result, these who go there, even for a short time end up being disoriented from the normal social live which leads recidivism. As a result, those who find themselves in this cycle end up being in a situation where they are not able to start living normally. As a result, the prisons are emitting outcasts. These social and economic outcasts are creating their own society of disoriented people. This is because once these people come out pf prison; they are not able to integrate in the society and are unable to get employment (Devah 937-975). As Schmitt, Warner, and Gupta (2012) says, American has the highest percentages of incarceration in relation to its population and this affects economic mobility of those who go to prison even for a short time, especially foe the marginalized. Western’s theory can be confirmed just by looking at the street life in most urban areas and especially in low class residences in the United States. The number of unemployed young people who are no longer interested in improving their lives and are no longer interested in the mainstream way of life, such as getting a job, starting legitimate business and starting a family is increasing. Western is not only able to reveal the associating between lawbreaking and economic marginalisation and how racial and ethnic marginalities, he also shows that this phenomena is actually detectable even with the minority groups. For instance, he points to the fact that even as the number of African Americans in prisons has increased, the number of younger African Americans is actually significantly higher than the older ones. This is because the younger ones are the ones who are more likely to be unemployed and to also not have any commitments and therefore be willing to commit crime without thinking much about the possible consequences. Regardless of what Western says, the most important thing is the fact that the increasing levels of incarceration are an issue of economic and social inequality is definitely not debatable. As he says, these prisoners have an average education of tenth grade, and a whopping seventy percent of them have no high school education since they drop out before or soon after joining high school. What is even worse is that this gap is continuing to increase and will continue to increase. It is also good to note that this commonly driven incarceration levels also has an effect on other factors such as the family. Western puts out to the fact that a good number of these prisoners, a majority of whom are economically disadvantaged African Americans, have dependents. As he says, a number of them had children by the time of their arrest, and over fifty percent of these children were actually living with their parents before the parent is taking to prison. These children are more likely of end up in the same path not only because the parent has set a negative example, but because the same social economic factors which influenced their parents to engage in criminal activities will also affect them. As the parents of these children are taken away, the chance of these children having a better chance in getting a good education is lowered and they end up not having a good education. The process continues and this is seen within the same ethnic groups, such as the black people. The other way that Western connects the prison boon to social and economic inequalities is by tracing it back to the 1960s when there was much and increasing calls for social equalities activists from the minority groups. This was the era of martin Luther King and the Malcolm X. The young people who were active in the many activities associated with the civil rights activists were considered as criminals. Western points out to the fact that for the first time, even those people from the majority groups (Caucasian whites) who were hitherto sympathetic to the minority groups were lured into seeing the African Americans as criminals who were causing disorder. Of course, this was an issue which was divided across the political divide and as Western points out, the republicans who were more conservative and would support the new idea of prisons as a punishment pint for these people who did not have respect for the constitution. As a result the prison boom was to start and be connected with economic and racial inequalities. What Western is saying is that just as the prison boom started with racial and social inequality, it has continued to be so and this is a problem which has to be addressed. Conclusion The issue in which Western is addressing is a very serious issue which can lead to a huge damage to the society. The prison boom poses a big threat to the American society, especially due to its connection to racial, ethnic and most importantly socioeconomic inequality. As has been seen in most parts of Europe and the Arab region, social and economic inequality is a time bomb that is bound to go off sooner than later. In this regard, it is necessary for Western’s theory on the prison boom to be pursued and addressed properly. Western has effectively indicated how ht prison boom is directly connected with social economic and racial inequalities. He has also shown how this is going to get worse and it is necessary for there to be a way to address this. Policy makers can only fail to address this at their won peril. Works Cited Bruce Western. 2006. Punishment and Inequality in America, Chapter 1; Chapter 4. Print Devah Pager. 2003. “The Mark of a Criminal Record.” American Journal of Sociology. 168 (937-975). Print J. Schmitt, K. Warner, and Sarika Gupta. 2012. “The High Budgetary Cost of Incarceration.” Center for Policy and Economic Research. Print Kenworthy, K. "Bruce Western, Punishment and Inequality." Socio-Economic Review (2007): pp. 1–16. Print Read More