The Moral Economy of Imprisonment in Canada

This article reflects on the ’Canadian model’ of detention after almost a decade of increased reliance on policies depriving individuals of their liberty. The author analysesdetention as a form of slow and invisible violence (Nixon, 2011) that seems to generate moral indifference and a dehumanisation process (Bauman, 2002). Drawing fromconcepts such as Fein’s (1979) universe of moral obligation and Fassin’s (2009) moraleconomy, it is suggested that the implementation of policies and practices that deprivecertain individuals of their liberties lead to their social, geographical and most importantly moral differentiation and exclusion. It is contended that the exalting of moralsentiments and emotions lies at the core of the social construction of detention as seenthrough the norms regulating its practice and the values in whose name society deprives certain individuals of their freedom.