Da fábrica ao cárcere e de volta: encarceramento, disciplina e acumulação originária na obra de Dario Melossi

Abstract

This work examines the status of the theory of Professor Dario Melossi, exponent of the tradition called “political economy of punishment”, with the aim of understanding the nuances of the treatment of the criminal issue at the time of consolidation of classical capitalism, as well as to what extent Karl Marx's social theory is incorporated into his analysis. It starts, above all, from the work The prison and the fabric, written by Melossi together with the also Italian Massimo Pavarini, and is still considered one of the most important analyses of the penalty under capitalism, without excluding other texts that contemplate the issue of genealogy and social function of prison at its inception. Thus, in the development of the research, the functions of the prison are the guiding thread, with emphasis on the discipline of the working class in its emergence, brought to the center of the debate by Melossi, who, to this end, resorts to the philosophy of Michel Foucault. It is understood that unravelling the intricacies of Melossi's treatment of the penal question, in light of the critique of Marxian political economy, is essential to understand the mistakes and successes of the “political economy of punishment” and critical criminology, advancing towards the radical critique of criminal law.