David Garland and the Culture of Control

Abstract

In this paper I try to summarise the writings of David Garland, the British sociologist who describes the dynamics of change in the system of social control in modern and late modern societies. First, I analyse the Garland’s methodology, especially the role of culture and cultural values in his theory. Later I summarise his reflections on social control in the modern era, especially it’s connections with the ideology of the welfare state. The focus of my paper is, however, Garland’s analysis of control in late modern societies. Unlike Jock Young or Zygmunt Bauman, Garland does not claim, that we live in an “exclusive society”. The fear of crime, which has been growing during the past couple of decades, creates a propensity to control everything and to let others control our everyday lives. In this way everyone has fewer opportunities to perform a deviant act. Also, in late-modern society it is more common to express moral outrage directed to deviants — a significant break with the past times, when the main discourse concerning crime was a scientific one (mainly criminological). The conclusion is that we are living in a culture of control — i.e. the culture of late modern society is very much concerned with the management of everyday life in order to avoid any sort of danger or deviance.