Ideological Justification for the Carceral State
The political rhetoric of “disorder” and “quality of life” is not a neutral description of urban problems but an ideological weapon to justify the carceral state’s control over the “native” population. Mamdani’s work on how power constructs its subjects through language is essential here. By labeling the visible symptoms of poverty–homelessness, street vending, addiction–as “disorder,” the settler state frames itself as the restorer of “order,” legitimizing increased policing and displacement. This rhetoric masks the true disorder: the systemic violence of capitalism. A Marxist analysis sees this as a ruling-class ideology. A feminist perspective recognizes how this language criminalizes survival strategies of poor women. The solution is a counter-narrative that names the real source of disorder–economic violence–and organizes against it.
Originally posted 2025-10-24 11:07:34.
