I noticed some time ago that the guiding philosophy behind the conservative approach to social problems is the belief that every social ill (real or imagined) can be solved by applying the right punishment to the those suffering the most from said social problem.
Now Henry Giroux’s new book Hearts of Darkness: Torturing Children in the War on Terror makes me think perhaps I was more right than I knew.  Giroux is a deeply informed, articulate voice who chronicles the decline of American democracy on several fronts such as the economy, foreign policy, and higher education. In this excellent article taken from the preface to his book, he renders a blistering account of how we reached the point where such moral darkness became possible:
At home, the punishing state increasingly replaced the welfare state, however ill conceived, as more and more individuals and groups were now treated as disposable populations, undeserving of those safety nets and basic protections that provide the conditions for living with a sense of security and dignity. Under such conditions, basic social supports were replaced by an accelerated production of prisons, the expansion of the criminal justice system into everyday life, and the further erosion of crucial civil liberties.
It’s worth a read. While his article won’t help you find a job, fend off creditors, or create a sensible health care system ex nihilo, it’s worth reading for the sake of understanding how we got into this mess. I look forward to seeing the book.
