Has Neoliberalism Affected American Civil Liberties? Examining the Criminal Justice System and the Welfare State

Berlinghoff, Maddison Brooke Kapua'Ena

Has Neoliberalism Affected American Civil Liberties? Examining the Criminal Justice System and the Welfare State

dc.contributor.author	Berlinghoff, Maddison Brooke Kapua'Ena	en
dc.contributor.committeechair	Apodaca, Clair	en
dc.contributor.committeemember	Pula, Besnik	en
dc.contributor.committeemember	Caraccioli, Mauro J.	en
dc.contributor.department	Political Science	en
dc.date.accessioned	2021-06-05T08:01:59Z	en
dc.date.available	2021-06-05T08:01:59Z	en
dc.date.issued	2021-05-28	en
dc.description.abstract	Neoliberalism once started as an economic theory but overtime has developed into an arm of state social control. This thesis asks if neoliberal economic policies have affected civil liberties in the United States and sets out to understand this relationship in several ways. Firstly, by investigating the shift from Keynesianism to market fundamentalism. Secondly, by evaluating the growth in the prison industrial complex. Third, by asking questions of growing social insecurity from an increasingly privatized social safety net. This thesis explored four hypotheses, each one finding support. The overall argument is that the economic sphere and the free market has obstructed the social sphere. Finally, the thesis concludes with a brief discussion of toxic individualism as it relates to socialization after a long period of extreme market privatization.	en
dc.description.abstractgeneral	Ever since the 1980s, the United States has experienced an increase in incarceration rates, and simultaneously a more substantial shift in economic practices, from Keynesianism to what became colloquially known as "trickle down economics." This thesis argues that the economic change, defined in this work as neoliberalism, subsequently affected how welfare and social services manage social insecurity in the United States, including the criminal justice system. This paper will discuss the tenets of neoliberalism and how these core tenets, i.e. privatization, affected the welfare state and the prison industrial complex.	en
dc.description.degree	Master of Arts	en
dc.format.medium	ETD	en
dc.identifier.other	vt_gsexam:30375	en
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10919/103623	en
dc.publisher	Virginia Tech	en
dc.rights	In Copyright	en
dc.rights.uri	http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/	en
dc.subject	Neoliberalism	en
dc.subject	Criminal Justice	en
dc.subject	Welfare	en
dc.subject	Social Services	en
dc.subject	Mass Incarceration	en
dc.subject	Political Economy	en
dc.title	Has Neoliberalism Affected American Civil Liberties? Examining the Criminal Justice System and the Welfare State	en
dc.type	Thesis	en
thesis.degree.discipline	Political Science	en
thesis.degree.grantor	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University	en
thesis.degree.level	masters	en
thesis.degree.name	Master of Arts	en