Moral Restorative Justice: A Political Genealogy of Activism and Neoliberalism in the United States

65 Pages Posted: 17 May 2019 Last revised: 3 Dec 2019

See all articles by Amy J. Cohen

Amy J. Cohen

Temple University Beasley School of Law

Date Written: May 7, 2019

Abstract

For decades, left proponents of restorative justice have wondered if their preference for “less state” would attract complex bedfellows and political alliances. But it was only as the crisis of mass incarceration hit American cultural and political consciousness that a wide range of libertarian and conservative political organizations and actors began to promote restorative ideals. This Article traces changing political, theological, and ideological articulations of restorative justice from the 1970s to now, knit together by a common grammar of relationality. It argues that today, restorative justice exemplifies a distinctively moral form of neoliberalism, complicating the arguments of scholars who describe rightwing criminal justice reform as exemplifying cost-cutting and efficiency. This account of restorative justice, in turn, reveals different possibilities and dangers for bipartisan collaborations: moral-relational values may be genuinely shared as they compete to establish highly disparate political, economic, and social visions.

Keywords: restorative justice; bipartisan criminal justice reform; mediation; neoliberalism

Suggested Citation

Cohen, Amy J., Moral Restorative Justice: A Political Genealogy of Activism and Neoliberalism in the United States (May 7, 2019). Minnesota Law Review, Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3384364

Amy J. Cohen (Contact Author)

Temple University Beasley School of Law ( email )

1719 N. Broad Street
Philadelphia, PA
United States

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