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Making of US Police State; Mass Incarceration Toll
The Making Of The American Police State. How did we get here? The numbers are chilling: 2.2 million people behind bars, another 4.7 million on parole or probation. Even small-town cops are armed like soldiers, with a thoroughly militarized southern border. The common leftist explanation for this is “the prison-industrial complex,” suggesting that the buildup is largely privatized and has been driven by parasitic corporate lobbying. But the facts don’t support an economistic explanation. Private prisons only control 8 percent of prison beds. Nor do for-profit corporations use much prison labor. Nor even are guards’ unions, though strong in a few important states, driving the buildup. The vast majority of the American police state remains firmly within the public sector.
How mass incarceration takes a toll on the environment, communities, and prisoners. Both prisoners and surrounding communities are affected by this under-studied issue.
