Putting the ‘Mass’ in ‘Mass Supervision’: A Conceptual Analysis

Abstract

This chapter argues that the concept of ‘mass supervision’, and indeed the concept of ‘mass incarceration’ from which it derives, is both quantitatively and qualitatively indeterminate when applied outside of the context of the US. However, the qualitative indeterminacy of mass supervision only holds so long as one treats the word ‘mass’ as being an analogy to mass consumption. This chapter therefore considers an alternative construction of ‘mass’ punishment in terms of mass production. Comparing the philosophies of production associated with Henry Ford and William Morris with the scholarship of Michel Foucault and Fergus McNeill reveals that mass supervision can authentically claim to be qualitatively ‘massive’, given the bespoke and one-on-one nature of traditional supervision. It is thus possible to speak coherently of ‘mass supervision’ in an international context, although this negative conception of a problem invites questions about the best solution that it generally leaves open.

Citation

Hayes, D.J. (2023), "Putting the ‘Mass’ in ‘Mass Supervision’: A Conceptual Analysis", Maier, K., Ricciardelli, R. and McNeill, F. (Ed.) Punishment, Probation and Parole: Mapping Out ‘Mass Supervision’ In International Contexts, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 11-30. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83753-194-320231002