The Prison and the Factory ― Origins of the Penitentiary System

This new edition of The Prison and the Factory, a classic work on radical criminology, includes two new, long essays from the authors and a foreword from Professor Jonathan Simon (UC Berkeley). In the two essays, Melossi and Pavarini reflect on the origins, development and fortune of The Prison and the Factory in relation to the debates surrounding mass incarceration that have taken place since this book was first published 40 years ago. The reputation of the original work has long been established worldwide, and this updated version will be of very special interest to scholars of the criminal justice system, penology, and Marxist theory.

This seminal book examines the links between the development of capitalist political economy and changing forms of social control. Melossi and Pavarini analyse the connection between the creation of penal institutions and regimes in Europe and the USA, and the problems generated by the emergence of capitalist

Dario Melossi is Professor of Criminology in the School of Law of the University of Bologna.

Massimo Pavarini (1947-2015) was Professor of Criminal and Prison Law at the University of Bologna. He was one of the guiding lights of critical criminology throughout Latin America.