Sunday, February 8, 2009

Durkheim and the prison system

This essay will attempt to analyze how Durkheim might view the state prison system and how this institution might be considered a mechanical solidarity type of society.
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2 comments:

  1. David MaciasFebruary 8, 2009 at 5:52 PM

    Within a prison-based society, prisoners are placed into this institution due to crimes they have committed in the outside world. Their individual rights are stripped from them, as they must conform to a new life, one that is under the strict rule of regulated society. They must abide to very specific rules and regulations, follow strict schedules, behave appropriately, and work for certain privileges that aren’t automatically given. This type of society these prisoners live in would be considered mechanical solidarity. The individuals in prison all must conform to a certain model, everything from regulate dress, to the same meals; they can be seen as being in extreme “likeness”. Any individuality is completely extinguished in this environment, as everyone must be the same.
    Prisoners must obey a very strict set of rules, rules that are enforced on them by the prison system. Through these rules they are forced into a collective consciousness that they all become a part of. They are all aware of their boundaries and understand that violating these boundaries will result in repressive punishment, different from the outside non-prison society. Their repressive punishment is made public, as word spreads about who and what punishment one received for breaking a rule. Punishment can be anything from losing a privilege that one had worked hard to earn, to as extreme as isolation from all other individuals with only an hour of time out of their cell.
    Occupations a prisoner can maintain within prison can even be seen as mechanical. The prisoners have limited choices on what they can do, and all pay is regulated, only earning less than a dollar an hour. Their positions require little variety in skill, and are mainly industrial type jobs.

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  2. UnknownOctober 7, 2017 at 3:13 PM

    3. Prison, due its rigidity of rules, regulations, and its forced uniform aesthetic upon the prisoner, may seem superficially like a perfect example of mechanical solidarity. Indeed, the limited employment options seem to be devoid of any form of specialization; in theory, any prisoner can do any of the jobs offered. Nevertheless, by analyzing the reality of the existence of illegal ventures by prisoners, the superficial bubble of mechanical solidarity is burst asunder, and organic solidarity displays itself as a social glue that binds prisoners together.
    Before delving into an explanation, it is important to note that any activity that is founded upon remuneration of service is illegal in prison. Secondly, the prison context is beset with antagonisms that have their roots in racism, gang affiliation, and conflicts between neighborhoods. Nevertheless, these antagonisms are largely suspended, not solely because of the fear of legal consequences, but, from my observations, the development of a division of labor that has forced prisoners to depend on each other. For example, there is the Drug Receiver, he specializes in getting drugs from the visit or has come up with an ingenious method of getting drugs in the mail (every time a method is discovered by the authorities, a new method is devised), then there is the Distributor who has built enough of a reputation to have the ability to have a force of Thugs as a deterrence against other Distributors, then there is the Drug User. How does the Drug User get enough funds to get drugs? He may be a Tattooist, or a Post Card Maker, or a Barber, be a Thief who gets the Tattooist the components to get an ink gun created, or the Post Card Maker his art materials, or the Barber his glue. I mean, the list can go on. In this illegal economy, every prisoner depends upon prisoners. Each trade inherently possesses a specialization that takes a certain skill and valor that are not possessed uniformly. Inversely, when shortages occur, or the authorities clamp down on certain illegal industries, this organic solidarity unravels, and violence ensues. For suddenly, that dependence that suspended previously held antagonism is severed, and violence results.

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