Answer:

The rise of mass incarceration overlaps the rise of neoliberalism in the United States and around the world. Discuss neoliberalism and the theory that there is a relationship between the two phenomena. Evaluate the theorized relationship.

Neoliberalism emerged in the 1970’s as a more radical form of classical liberal philosophy. “These classical liberal thinkers advocated a separation of economics and politics and minimal governmental intervention in economic affairs and markets” (Globalization and Neoliberalism, 2016). In the pursuit of market freedom and the privatization of government institutions and organizations, wealth was generated only to the small minority. While Ronald Reagan committed to the idea that the wealth would eventually reach other individuals, known as the trickle-down theory, it limited the money supply even more. The poor and disadvantaged had felt social impacts, such as poverty, unemployment, and inequality. I believe that during times of economic turbulence, that the rise in mass incarceration occurred. Crime unfolded for the masses. Moral panic ensued from riots, drug utilization and atrocious crimes. The underclass were alienated and labeled as criminals. Mass incarceration was established by law-and-order and more punitive measures of crime and disorder. Neoliberalism exchanged privatization into the carceral state and “work[ed] in the expansion of for-profit prisons, immigrant detention facilities, and privately run parole and probation services” (Boston Review, 2015). In this practice, neoliberalists have openly extracted millions of dollars from the low-income minority populations. Private entities feed off the revenue stream and impose harsh penalties that leads to the mass incarceration and a steady flow of inmates. “The main drivers of penal policy reform at the elite level are cost- benefit analyses and concerns about recidivism, not concerns of justice or human rights” (Boston Review, 2015).