Credit, Cops, and Cages
A Theory of Capitalist Individualism
1st Edition
Published on 27. November 2025
256 pages
978-1-9787-7142-0 (ISBN)
Description
Longstanding debates about neoliberalism in the United States center around whether it has created a culture of entrepreneurial selfhood or a carceral state. Credit, Cops, and Cages presents a novel theory and relevant empirical evidence arguing that capitalist individualism combines both of these tendencies.
The book's interdisciplinary authors first derive a critical framework and set of social-psychological hypotheses from the long-neglected criminological writings of the early Frankfurt School. They then test and explore these hypotheses with new data and analyses in a series of chapters that guide the reader down the ladder of capitalist individualism. In the process, the authors synthesize and critically examine scholarship of Constitutional law; big data on indebtedness, segregation, and police militarization; psychological surveys capturing and comparing attitudes and emotions around debt and policing; and the intimate testimony of those who are deeply in debt or are currently incarcerated. Unique in its combination of philosophy and social scientific research, this book restores the relevance of the Frankfurt School's ideas and methods to a comprehensive understanding of contemporary U.S. society.
The book's interdisciplinary authors first derive a critical framework and set of social-psychological hypotheses from the long-neglected criminological writings of the early Frankfurt School. They then test and explore these hypotheses with new data and analyses in a series of chapters that guide the reader down the ladder of capitalist individualism. In the process, the authors synthesize and critically examine scholarship of Constitutional law; big data on indebtedness, segregation, and police militarization; psychological surveys capturing and comparing attitudes and emotions around debt and policing; and the intimate testimony of those who are deeply in debt or are currently incarcerated. Unique in its combination of philosophy and social scientific research, this book restores the relevance of the Frankfurt School's ideas and methods to a comprehensive understanding of contemporary U.S. society.
More details
Series
Edition
1. Auflage
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
8 tables, 20 figures
ISBN-13
978-1-9787-7142-0 (9781978771420)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Alexis N. Goad | Tyler Jimenez | Tiana Jones
Credit, Cops, and Cages
A Theory of Capitalist Individualism
Book
approx. 02/2026
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
€111.50
Not yet published
Persons
Alexis N. Goad is a PhD candidate in social psychology at the University of Arizona.
Tyler Jimenez is assistant professor of psychology at the University of Arizona.
Tiana Kathryn Jones works as a Deputy State Public Defender for the Colorado State Public Defender.
Harrison J. Schmitt is assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at Skidmore College.
Lauren P. Sedivy is an existential psychologist and prison reform advocate whose research focuses on supporting rehabilitation and successful reentry for incarcerated individuals.
Daniel Sullivan is the director of the Social and Personality Psychology Program at the University of Arizona in Tucson.
Tyler Jimenez is assistant professor of psychology at the University of Arizona.
Tiana Kathryn Jones works as a Deputy State Public Defender for the Colorado State Public Defender.
Harrison J. Schmitt is assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at Skidmore College.
Lauren P. Sedivy is an existential psychologist and prison reform advocate whose research focuses on supporting rehabilitation and successful reentry for incarcerated individuals.
Daniel Sullivan is the director of the Social and Personality Psychology Program at the University of Arizona in Tucson.
Content
Preface
Chapter 1: A Theory of Capitalist Individualism
Chapter 2: The Legal Scaffold of Self-Positions
Chapter 3: Studies on the Psychology of Debt
Chapter 4: The Ambiguous Case of Student Debt
Chapter 5: Studies on Public Attitudes towards Policing and Incarceration
Chapter 6: Bars and Becoming: The Transformation of Identity in Incarcerated Women
Chapter 7: Conclusion: Theoretical Reflections
Appendix: Methodological Supplement to Chapter 3
References
Index
About the Authors
Chapter 1: A Theory of Capitalist Individualism
Chapter 2: The Legal Scaffold of Self-Positions
Chapter 3: Studies on the Psychology of Debt
Chapter 4: The Ambiguous Case of Student Debt
Chapter 5: Studies on Public Attitudes towards Policing and Incarceration
Chapter 6: Bars and Becoming: The Transformation of Identity in Incarcerated Women
Chapter 7: Conclusion: Theoretical Reflections
Appendix: Methodological Supplement to Chapter 3
References
Index
About the Authors
