---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The prison is the state writ small."
description: "\"The prison is the state writ small.\" — Mason Cooley"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2a/mason-cooley-92_crime_the-prison-is-the-state-writ-small-10152_1015288.png"
---

#  The prison is the state writ small.

![“The prison is the state writ small.” quote by Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2a/mason-cooley-92_crime_the-prison-is-the-state-writ-small-10152_1015288.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2a/mason-cooley-92_crime_the-prison-is-the-state-writ-small-10152_1015288.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2a/mason-cooley-92_crime_the-prison-is-the-state-writ-small-10152_1015288.png)

> “The prison is the state writ small.”

[Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Society’s institutions can imprison individuals, limiting freedom like a tiny prison

**In simple terms:** Society can trap people like a small jail

Key Takeaway

Recognize and resist societal constraints

Themes

freedom society control

Mood

thoughtful critical

Type

philosophical observational

When to use this quote

- workplace politics
- government policies
- social expectations

Key Concepts

institutional critique personal liberty

Questions to Reflect On

- What freedoms do you feel confined by?
- How can you expand personal autonomy?

A Different Perspective

Not all constraints are overt; some are subtle and internal

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Prison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prison/) [Prison State](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prison-state-306414/) [State](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/state/) [State Writ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/state-writ-2230061/) [States](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/states/) [Writ Small](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writ-small-2230062/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/)

## Related quotes

> [Our current prison state has the dual effect of getting rid of a superfluous population of basically unskilled workers (with a close race-class correlation),…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/our-current-prison-state-has-the-dual-effect-of-getting-rid-of-a/)

[Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/)

> [When liberal celebs stammer out a litany of shopworn bleats about the administration's attempt to turn America into a theocratic prison state, people can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-lileks/when-liberal-celebs-stammer-out-a-litany-of-shopworn-bleats-about-the/)

[James Lileks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-lileks/)

> [If you are going to break a Law of Art, make the crime interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/if-you-are-going-to-break-a-law-of-art-make-the-crime-interesting/)

[Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/)

> [I helped write the expunction code in the State of Texas to give people the opportunity to have their names cleared when they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-veasey/i-helped-write-the-expunction-code-in-the-state-of-texas-to-give/)

[Marc Veasey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-veasey/)

> [“The cliche about prison life is that I am actually integrated into it, ruined by it, when my accommodation to it is so overwhelming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/the-cliche-about-prison-life-is-that-i-am-actually-integrated-into-it/)

[Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/)

> [To arrive is to be in prison.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/to-arrive-is-to-be-in-prison/)

[Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/)

> [“Life is prison; we are incarcerated in the flesh.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dominic-minguzzi/life-is-prison-we-are-incarcerated-in-the-flesh/)

[Dominic Minguzzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dominic-minguzzi/)

> [Arrival = Prison, and the artist must never be a prisoner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/arrival-prison-and-the-artist-must-never-be-a-prisoner/)

[Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/)

> [To live in prison is to live without mirrors. To live without mirrors is to live without the self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/to-live-in-prison-is-to-live-without-mirrors-to-live-without-mirrors/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [Sometimes the law defends plunder and participates in it. Sometimes the law places the whole apparatus of judges, police, prisons and gendarmes at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/sometimes-the-law-defends-plunder-and-participates-in-it-sometimes/)

[Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/)

> [In the innermost recesses of humanism, as its very soul, there rages a frantic prisoner who, as a Fascist, turns the world into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-the-innermost-recesses-of-humanism-as-its-very-soul-there-rages-a/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [In prison, the gloves were off, the comforting rhetoric and rationalization were absent. To use a phrase from Plato, I saw the laws of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-dellinger/in-prison-the-gloves-were-off-the-comforting-rhetoric-and/)

[David Dellinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-dellinger/)

> [A children's author on a soapbox is not a pleasant sight but I have become drawn into issues, slightly unwillingly, relating to young people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-horowitz/a-children-s-author-on-a-soapbox-is-not-a-pleasant-sight-but-i-have/)

[Anthony Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-horowitz/)

> [I just remember that disturbing feeling of walking into that prison, the complete loss of privacy, the complete loss of stimulation, dignity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cybill-shepherd/i-just-remember-that-disturbing-feeling-of-walking-into-that-prison/)

[Cybill Shepherd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cybill-shepherd/)

> [The federal prison population increased by almost 800 percent between 1980 and 2013, often at a far faster rate than the Bureau of Prisons…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-yates/the-federal-prison-population-increased-by-almost-800-percent-between/)

[Sally Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-yates/)

## More by Mason Cooley

> [Nostalgia keeps dissolving the ironic narratives in which I have contained my past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/nostalgia-keeps-dissolving-the-ironic-narratives-in-which-i-have/)

[Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/)

> [The modernist writers found despair inspirational.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-modernist-writers-found-despair-inspirational/)

[Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/)

> [Even the most abject have a sense of superiority based on powerful though undefined merits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/even-the-most-abject-have-a-sense-of-superiority-based-on-powerful/)

[Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/)

> [Money comes to life as it is spent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/money-comes-to-life-as-it-is-spent/)

[Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/)

> [Even the most fickle are faithful to a few bad habits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/even-the-most-fickle-are-faithful-to-a-few-bad-habits/)

[Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/)

> [Rage is exciting, but leaves me confused and exhausted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/rage-is-exciting-but-leaves-me-confused-and-exhausted/)

[Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/)

> [Literary tradition is full of lies about poverty-the jolly beggar, the poor but happy milkmaid, the wholesome diet of porridge, etc.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/literary-tradition-is-full-of-lies-about-poverty-the-jolly-beggar-the/)

[Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/)

> [Experience teaches us, but we scarcely know what.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/experience-teaches-us-but-we-scarcely-know-what/)

[Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/)

> [The body has a mind of its own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-body-has-a-mind-of-its-own/)

[Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/)

> [In retirement, I look for days off from my days off. Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/in-retirement-i-look-for-days-off-from-my-days-off-mason-cooley/)

[Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/)

> [My intentions go one way, my desires another. Thus I feel both self-indulgent and deprived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/my-intentions-go-one-way-my-desires-another-thus-i-feel-both-self/)

[Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/)

> [The Puritan sours his pleasures by disguising them as duties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-puritan-sours-his-pleasures-by-disguising-them-as-duties/)

[Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/)

> [Unlike the actual, the fictional explains itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/unlike-the-actual-the-fictional-explains-itself/)

[Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/)

> [Vacations prove that a life of pleasure is overrated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/vacations-prove-that-a-life-of-pleasure-is-overrated/)

[Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/)

> [Outside literature, high-flown sentiments are merely exasperating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/outside-literature-high-flown-sentiments-are-merely-exasperating/)

[Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/)

[Explore all 1,401 Mason Cooley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/)

## More Crime quotes

> [Joking about violence is not funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/perez-hilton/joking-about-violence-is-not-funny/)

[Perez Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/perez-hilton/)

> [“Crime and punishment can be summed up in two classifications: there are bad people and there are people who get into bad situations. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnnie-dent-jr/crime-and-punishment-can-be-summed-up-in-two-classifications-there/)

[Johnnie Dent Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnnie-dent-jr/)

> [With 'Pretty Girls,' I saw the opportunity to talk not just about crime but what crime leaves behind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/with-pretty-girls-i-saw-the-opportunity-to-talk-not-just-about-crime/)

[Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/)

> [“The jailers, the Court, everyone in that building – it wasn’t about justice; it was about obedience and intimidation…about maintaining order. Fear accomplished that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-allan/the-jailers-the-court-everyone-in-that-building-it-wasn-t-about/)

[Jay Allan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-allan/)

> [Taking notes while watching Forensic Files and Snapped. I don't want to make the same mistakes the criminals do! ;)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/taking-notes-while-watching-forensic-files-and-snapped-i-don-t-want/)

[Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/)

> [A man could be a lover and defender of the wilderness without ever in his lifetime leaving the boundaries of asphalt, powerlines, and right-angled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/a-man-could-be-a-lover-and-defender-of-the-wilderness-without-ever-in/)

[Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/)

> [Nations sometimes flourish by denying the crimes that brought them into being. Only when the original invasion, occupation, extermination or usurpation has been safely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/nations-sometimes-flourish-by-denying-the-crimes-that-brought-them/)

[Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/)

> [The danger that may really threaten (crime fiction) is that soon there will be more writers than readers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-barzun/the-danger-that-may-really-threaten-crime-fiction-is-that-soon-there/)

[Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/)

> [“a crime to fell a tree and light it on fire, where coals of hardened shit warmed and stunk up homes,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/a-crime-to-fell-a-tree-and-light-it-on-fire-where-coals-of-hardened/)

[Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/)

> [A great read; an exciting, frightening account of organized crime today. But like all important works of nonfiction, it goes further… This book is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/le-ly-hayslip/a-great-read-an-exciting-frightening-account-of-organized-crime-today/)

[Le Ly Hayslip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/le-ly-hayslip/)

> [History is the study of the world's crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/history-is-the-study-of-the-world-s-crime/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

> [If it comes to a question of law, the charges they brought against me - the Espionage Act - is called the quintessential political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/if-it-comes-to-a-question-of-law-the-charges-they-brought-against-me/)

[Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/)

> [Too much virtue can be criminal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-racine/too-much-virtue-can-be-criminal/)

[Jean Racine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-racine/)

> [The federal prison population increased by almost 800 percent between 1980 and 2013, often at a far faster rate than the Bureau of Prisons…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-yates/the-federal-prison-population-increased-by-almost-800-percent-between/)

[Sally Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-yates/)

> [ \[P\]rogress, however, has not sufficiently infiltrated the Interior Ministry, affording protection to those who participated in the Bytyqi murders and other egregious Milosevic-era crimes. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avis-bohlen/p-rogress-however-has-not-sufficiently-infiltrated-the-interior/)

[Avis Bohlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avis-bohlen/)

[Browse all 8,359 Crime quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "The prison is the state writ small.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Mason Cooley"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-prison-is-the-state-writ-small/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Crime"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-prison-is-the-state-writ-small/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2a/mason-cooley-92_crime_the-prison-is-the-state-writ-small-10152_1015288.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2a/mason-cooley-92_crime_the-prison-is-the-state-writ-small-10152_1015288.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2a/mason-cooley-92_crime_the-prison-is-the-state-writ-small-10152_1015288.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The prison is the state writ small.” — Mason Cooley",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Mason Cooley",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "The prison is the state writ...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-prison-is-the-state-writ-small/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-prison-is-the-state-writ-small/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```