The Culture of Control

“David Garland has done us a great (if distressing) service with his important book. The time is surely overdue for a fresh look at what he calls the culture of control, and how it can make more trouble for us than it cures.” Jerome Bruner, New York Review of BooksGarland's book is more than just an important contribution to criminology. It is also a major work of social analysis, which deserves to be read more widely...his account of changes in crime control also provides one of the clearest and most convincing characterizations of contemporary society in general.'Robert Reiner, The Times Literary SupplementReview from previous edition Today’s turbulent criminal justice debate is significantly advanced by this dense but surprisingly readable book. In it David Garland sets himself the task of ‘understanding the present’, and for practitioners struggling with the relentless flood of legislation, policy initiatives and radical restructuring, he offers a stimulating analysis of what is actually happening and why … his carefully documented untangling of thecomplex strands of the current criminal justice policy is impressive and illuminating.‘Sheila Moore J. P., Contemporary SocietyThis is a marvellous book. In a compact, clearly-written, analysis Garland seeks to explain the rapid retrenchment of rehabilitative criminal justice in Britain and the United States over the last thirty years. In contrast to standard treatments that blame the media, conservative politics, or academic research, Garland finds that the punitive mood in criminology and crime control is deeply rooted in the new social structures of late modernity. This is aprovocative thesis that will inspire research and be of broad interest to students of politics and the welfare state, as well as criminologists.'Bruce Western, Princeton UniversityThis is a brilliant, important book. Garland writes so clearly that any intelligent reader can learn from him. What he has to teach is unsettling; the deeply reactionary impulse contained in what he calls “late modernity”.‘Richard Sennett, Professor of Social and Cultural Theory, London School of Economics.The Culture of Control is the most important book on the sociology of punishment and social control since Foucault's Discipline and Punish. David Garland starts with levels of common knowledge about politics and economy and weaves them with his own extraordinarily sophisticated reading of crime discourses and social theory into a perspective on the conditions of contemporary life that is as disturbing as it is compelling.'Jonathan Simon, Professor of Law Miami Law SchoolA remarkable and visionary exegesis by one of the most insightful social theorists of our time. Full of profound insights into how we live today, The Culture of Control takes us to new levels of sophistication in our understanding of the connection between today’s crime control strategies and late modern social organization.‘Mitchell Duneier, author of SIDEWALK and SLIM’S TABLE

David Garland is Professor of Law at New York University.

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