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The Invisibility of the Prison in Democratic Theory: A Problem of “Virtual Democracy”
- The Good Society
- Penn State University Press
- Volume 23, Number 1, 2014
- pp. 6-16
- Article
- Additional Information
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This paper considers the practical and theoretical invisibility of prisons and punishment in contemporary democratic states and modern democratic political theory. I argue that the prison’s invisibility is a symptom of our democracy’s “virtuality,” its tendency to operate without the full participation of its citizens and to project responsibility for risks onto politicians and experts.