Overview
William G. Staples presents a new and distinctive analysis of the role of the modern state in the shaping of policies of social control. He provides a theoretical framework for understanding the mechanisms of state policymaking and capacity. This framework supports an interpretation of the changing nature of institutions of social control in the United States from the beginning of the nineteenth century to the present.
A distinctive feature of Staples's approach is his critique of existing theories of the state, as well as recent revisionist writings in the field of social control. Both, he argues, have tended to either reduce the state to an instrument of class power or treat it in too "structural" a manner. Developing a sophisticated account of the relationship between the state and civil society, the author provides a history of social control policies in the United States that balances analytical concerns with historical narrative.