Golden Gulag

Prisons, Surplus, Crisis, and Opposition in Globalizing California

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Crimes & Criminals, Criminology, Sociology
Cover of the book Golden Gulag by Ruth Wilson Gilmore, University of California Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Ruth Wilson Gilmore ISBN: 9780520938038
Publisher: University of California Press Publication: January 8, 2007
Imprint: University of California Press Language: English
Author: Ruth Wilson Gilmore
ISBN: 9780520938038
Publisher: University of California Press
Publication: January 8, 2007
Imprint: University of California Press
Language: English

Since 1980, the number of people in U.S. prisons has increased more than 450%. Despite a crime rate that has been falling steadily for decades, California has led the way in this explosion, with what a state analyst called "the biggest prison building project in the history of the world." Golden Gulag provides the first detailed explanation for that buildup by looking at how political and economic forces, ranging from global to local, conjoined to produce the prison boom.

In an informed and impassioned account, Ruth Wilson Gilmore examines this issue through statewide, rural, and urban perspectives to explain how the expansion developed from surpluses of finance capital, labor, land, and state capacity. Detailing crises that hit California’s economy with particular ferocity, she argues that defeats of radical struggles, weakening of labor, and shifting patterns of capital investment have been key conditions for prison growth. The results—a vast and expensive prison system, a huge number of incarcerated young people of color, and the increase in punitive justice such as the "three strikes" law—pose profound and troubling questions for the future of California, the United States, and the world. Golden Gulag provides a rich context for this complex dilemma, and at the same time challenges many cherished assumptions about who benefits and who suffers from the state’s commitment to prison expansion.

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

Since 1980, the number of people in U.S. prisons has increased more than 450%. Despite a crime rate that has been falling steadily for decades, California has led the way in this explosion, with what a state analyst called "the biggest prison building project in the history of the world." Golden Gulag provides the first detailed explanation for that buildup by looking at how political and economic forces, ranging from global to local, conjoined to produce the prison boom.

In an informed and impassioned account, Ruth Wilson Gilmore examines this issue through statewide, rural, and urban perspectives to explain how the expansion developed from surpluses of finance capital, labor, land, and state capacity. Detailing crises that hit California’s economy with particular ferocity, she argues that defeats of radical struggles, weakening of labor, and shifting patterns of capital investment have been key conditions for prison growth. The results—a vast and expensive prison system, a huge number of incarcerated young people of color, and the increase in punitive justice such as the "three strikes" law—pose profound and troubling questions for the future of California, the United States, and the world. Golden Gulag provides a rich context for this complex dilemma, and at the same time challenges many cherished assumptions about who benefits and who suffers from the state’s commitment to prison expansion.

More books from University of California Press

Cover of the book Art of the Gold Rush by Ruth Wilson Gilmore
Cover of the book The Argonautika by Ruth Wilson Gilmore
Cover of the book The Soft Vengeance of a Freedom Fighter by Ruth Wilson Gilmore
Cover of the book Emerson by Ruth Wilson Gilmore
Cover of the book Not Fit for Our Society by Ruth Wilson Gilmore
Cover of the book Hard-Boiled Hollywood by Ruth Wilson Gilmore
Cover of the book Moral Wages by Ruth Wilson Gilmore
Cover of the book Inside National Health Reform by Ruth Wilson Gilmore
Cover of the book The Meanings of Macho by Ruth Wilson Gilmore
Cover of the book Balancing on a Planet by Ruth Wilson Gilmore
Cover of the book From Cuba with Love by Ruth Wilson Gilmore
Cover of the book The 1972 Munich Olympics and the Making of Modern Germany by Ruth Wilson Gilmore
Cover of the book Conquests and Historical Identities in California, 1769-1936 by Ruth Wilson Gilmore
Cover of the book Criminal Genius by Ruth Wilson Gilmore
Cover of the book Cane Toad Wars by Ruth Wilson Gilmore
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