1. M. Alexander claims that the main explanation of why so many people are sent to jail in the U.S. today is deeply wrong. Explain her argument by referring to the various examples she mentions to backup her point. (see p. 1-2) 

According to Michelle Alexander, the main argument for the high rates of incarceration in the United States is seriously flawed. She argues that it is incorrect to link the rise in incarceration to an increase in crime rates alone. Rather, she says that the War on Drugs has been crucial. “The impact of the drug war has been astounding. In less than thirty years, the U.S. penal population exploded from around 300,000 to more than 2 million, with drug convictions accounting for the majority of the increase.”

2. Why is it that racial disparities in the rates of incarceration “cannot be explained by rates of drug crimes”? 

Michelle Alexander argues that the incidence of drug crimes alone cannot account for the racial disparities in incarceration. She argues that research has repeatedly demonstrated that drug-related behaviors are practically the same among people of all races. Despite this, drug-related charges disproportionately target and imprison Latinos and African Americans. 

3. How do you understand the phrase: “the American penal system has emerged as a system of social control unparalleled in world history.”? 

According to Michelle Alexander, the American prison system has the most social control of any system in history. Her viewpoint on how mass imprisonment has turned into an effective weapon for social control, particularly in the context of the War on Drugs, is reflected in this term. She argues that African American and Latino groups are disproportionately singled out by the system and deprived of their rights, creating a endless cycle of marginalization.