--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The great gift of 'Incarceration Nations'…" description: "\"The great gift of 'Incarceration Nations' is that, by introducing a wide range of approaches to crime, punishment, and questions of justice in diverse ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d12/michelle-alexander-750_australia_the-great-gift-of-incarceration-nations_3069626.jpg" --- # The great gift of 'Incarceration Nations' is that, by… ![“The great gift of 'Incarceration Nations' is that, by introducing a wide range of approaches to crime, punishment, and questions of justice in diverse countries - Rwanda, South Africa, Brazil, Jamaica, Uganda, Singapore, Australia and Norway - it forces us to face the reality that American-style…” quote by Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d12/michelle-alexander-750_australia_the-great-gift-of-incarceration-nations_3069626.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d12/michelle-alexander-750_australia_the-great-gift-of-incarceration-nations_3069626.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d12/michelle-alexander-750_australia_the-great-gift-of-incarceration-nations_3069626.jpg) > “The great gift of 'Incarceration Nations' is that, by introducing a wide range of approaches to crime, punishment, and questions of justice in diverse countries - Rwanda, South Africa, Brazil, Jamaica, Uganda, Singapore, Australia and Norway - it forces us to face the reality that American-style punishment has been chosen.” [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The book highlights diverse global justice systems, showing that American punitive models are a choice, not inevitability. **In simple terms:** American punishment is a choice, not destiny. Key Takeaway Question and reform punitive policies. Themes justice punishment comparative law Mood critical inquisitive Type analytical inspirational When to use this quote - criminal justice reform - policy analysis - public education - advocacy Key Concepts social policy human rights penology Questions to Reflect On - What alternatives to incarceration could work locally? - How do cultural values shape justice? A Different Perspective Comparing systems may overlook cultural nuances and local contexts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Australia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/australia/) [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Crime Punishment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime-punishment/) [Gift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gift/) [Incarceration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incarceration/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) ## Related quotes > [“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/) > [My object all sublime I shall achieve in time- To let the punishment fit the crime- The punishment fit the crime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-gilbert/my-object-all-sublime-i-shall-achieve-in-time-to-let-the-punishment/) [W. S. Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-gilbert/) > [The message has to be sent that if you commit a crime there has to be punishment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benigno-aquino-iii/the-message-has-to-be-sent-that-if-you-commit-a-crime-there-has-to-be/) [Benigno Aquino III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benigno-aquino-iii/) > [Fear follows crime and is its punishment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/fear-follows-crime-and-is-its-punishment/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [The chief problem in any community cursed with crime is not the punishment of the criminals, but the preventing of the young from being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/the-chief-problem-in-any-community-cursed-with-crime-is-not-the/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [Crime and punishment grow out of one stem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/crime-and-punishment-grow-out-of-one-stem/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Crime and punishment grow out of one stem. Punishment is a fruit that unsuspected ripens within the flower of the pleasure which concealed it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/crime-and-punishment-grow-out-of-one-stem-punishment-is-a-fruit-that-2/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Our criminal justice system is failing all of us. It is not keeping us safe. It is contributing to a vicious cycle of crime…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chesa-boudin/our-criminal-justice-system-is-failing-all-of-us-it-is-not-keeping-us/) [Chesa Boudin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chesa-boudin/) > [Governments have tried to stop crime through punishment throughout the ages, but crime continued in the past punishment remains. Crime can only be stopped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maharishi-mahesh-yogi/governments-have-tried-to-stop-crime-through-punishment-throughout/) [Maharishi Mahesh Yogi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maharishi-mahesh-yogi/) > [The guilty is he who meditates a crime; the punishment is his who lays the plot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vittorio-alfieri/the-guilty-is-he-who-meditates-a-crime-the-punishment-is-his-who-lays/) [Vittorio Alfieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vittorio-alfieri/) > [Crime and punishment grow out of one stem. Punishment is a fruit that, unsuspected, ripens with the flower of the pleasure that concealed it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/crime-and-punishment-grow-out-of-one-stem-punishment-is-a-fruit-that/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Who said love is not a crime,love is not a crime,then why I always get punishment for loving someone…..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishant-grover/who-said-love-is-not-a-crime-love-is-not-a-crime-then-why-i-always/) [Nishant Grover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishant-grover/) > [One of the things that Dostoevsky talks about is that no character is too high to fall and no character is too low to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-bell/one-of-the-things-that-dostoevsky-talks-about-is-that-no-character-is/) [Jeffrey Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-bell/) > [The mass incarceration of poor people of color, particularly black men, has emerged as a new caste system, one specifically designed to address the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-mass-incarceration-of-poor-people-of-color-particularly-black-men/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [If we continue to tell ourselves the popular myths about racial progress or, worse yet, if we say to ourselves that the problem of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/if-we-continue-to-tell-ourselves-the-popular-myths-about-racial/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) ## More by Michelle Alexander > [If you ask for good schools, you aren't likely to get them. If you ask for jobs or economic investment, you won't get that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/if-you-ask-for-good-schools-you-aren-t-likely-to-get-them-if-you-ask/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [The uncomfortable reality we must face is that California, like the nation as a whole, has treated generations of African Americans and Latinos as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-uncomfortable-reality-we-must-face-is-that-california-like-the/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“Seeing race is not the problem. Refusing to care for the people we see is the problem. The fact that the meaning of race…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/seeing-race-is-not-the-problem-refusing-to-care-for-the-people-we-see/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [Since the nations founding, African Americans repeatedly have been controlled through institutions such as slavery and Jim Crow, which appear to die but then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/since-the-nations-founding-african-americans-repeatedly-have-been/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“Felon disenfranchisement laws have been more effective in eliminating black voters in the age of mass incarceration than they were under Jim Crow…These figures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/felon-disenfranchisement-laws-have-been-more-effective-in-eliminating/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“That was King’s dream—a society that is capable of seeing each of us, as we are, with love. That is a goal worth fighting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/that-was-king-s-dream-a-society-that-is-capable-of-seeing-each-of-us/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [Activists take the risks, while advocates are professional tinkerers with the system. What's necessary is for those who are advocates to support those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/activists-take-the-risks-while-advocates-are-professional-tinkerers/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“Civil rights protests were frequently depicted as criminal rather than political in nature, and federal courts were accused of excessive “lenience” toward lawlessness, thereby…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/civil-rights-protests-were-frequently-depicted-as-criminal-rather/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [We cannot 'fix' the police without a revolution of values and radical change to the basic structure of our society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/we-cannot-fix-the-police-without-a-revolution-of-values-and-radical/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [If we continue to tell ourselves the popular myths about racial progress or, worse yet, if we say to ourselves that the problem of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/if-we-continue-to-tell-ourselves-the-popular-myths-about-racial/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [The mass incarceration of poor people of color, particularly black men, has emerged as a new caste system, one specifically designed to address the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-mass-incarceration-of-poor-people-of-color-particularly-black-men/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [ “\[T\]he slave went free; stood a brief moment in the sun; then moved back again toward slavery. —W.E.B Du Bois, Black Reconstruction in America… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/t-he-slave-went-free-stood-a-brief-moment-in-the-sun-then-moved-back/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [If you take into account prisoners, a large majority of African American men in some urban areas, like Chicago, have been labeled felons for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/if-you-take-into-account-prisoners-a-large-majority-of-african/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“A new civil rights movement cannot be organized around the relics of the earlier system of control if it is to address meaningfully the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/a-new-civil-rights-movement-cannot-be-organized-around-the-relics-of/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [The rules and reasons the political system employs to enforce status relations of any kind, including racial hierarchy, evolve and change as they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-rules-and-reasons-the-political-system-employs-to-enforce-status/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) [Explore all 381 Michelle Alexander quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) ## More Australia quotes > [I've always been of the idea that is doesn't really matter where you are geographically - with 'Lonerism,' we made half the album in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-parker/i-ve-always-been-of-the-idea-that-is-doesn-t-really-matter-where-you/) [Kevin Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-parker/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [I wanted to have a peaceful married life with my wife, so we both moved to Sydney in Australia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rahul-roy/i-wanted-to-have-a-peaceful-married-life-with-my-wife-so-we-both/) [Rahul Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rahul-roy/) > [It will be nice to play against Australia. It's a great country, and football is getting bigger and bigger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-mata/it-will-be-nice-to-play-against-australia-it-s-a-great-country-and/) [Juan Mata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-mata/) > [We don't have any sailors in Australia, we have rowers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lexcen/we-don-t-have-any-sailors-in-australia-we-have-rowers/) Ben Lexcen > [I think that prosecuting some college kid because she shared a file is a lot like sending somebody to Australia 200 years ago for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iggy-pop/i-think-that-prosecuting-some-college-kid-because-she-shared-a-file/) [Iggy Pop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iggy-pop/) > [Sydney CBD is the eastern city, Parramatta is the central city and Badgerys will be the third city in greater Sydney.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gladys-berejiklian/sydney-cbd-is-the-eastern-city-parramatta-is-the-central-city-and/) [Gladys Berejiklian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gladys-berejiklian/) > [No matter what day we celebrate Australia Day, let's celebrate it together and give thanks to the original inhabitants of this vast country. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-barnes/no-matter-what-day-we-celebrate-australia-day-let-s-celebrate-it/) [Jimmy Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-barnes/) > [As a young kid you stay up late to watch the Ashes, getting told off for not being in bed, and dream of making…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonny-bairstow/as-a-young-kid-you-stay-up-late-to-watch-the-ashes-getting-told-off/) [Jonny Bairstow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonny-bairstow/) > [I love coming out to Australia, if it weren't so far away I would go all the time. I've worked with a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erick-morillo/i-love-coming-out-to-australia-if-it-weren-t-so-far-away-i-would-go/) [Erick Morillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erick-morillo/) > [What I appreciated was the fact that the script delved into how Australians were - and still are - condescended to by the English.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-rush/what-i-appreciated-was-the-fact-that-the-script-delved-into-how/) [Geoffrey Rush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-rush/) > [Okay the names 360, I run around tipsy. My fellas in Australia all sit with me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/360/okay-the-names-360-i-run-around-tipsy-my-fellas-in-australia-all-sit/) 360 > [Coal is the moral choice, particularly for the developing world... The model for the world right now should be Australia. Australia gets it. Scientifically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-morano/coal-is-the-moral-choice-particularly-for-the-developing-world-the/) Marc Morano > [I want to be part of the team that wins a Test series in England and Australia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautam-gambhir/i-want-to-be-part-of-the-team-that-wins-a-test-series-in-england-and/) [Gautam Gambhir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautam-gambhir/) > [I was brought up in a Christian home in Australia with a father who was very bold about his faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-ham/i-was-brought-up-in-a-christian-home-in-australia-with-a-father-who/) [Ken Ham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-ham/) [Browse all 1,907 Australia quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/australia/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The great gift of 'Incarceration Nations' is that, by introducing a wide range of approaches to crime, punishment, and questions of justice in diverse countries - Rwanda, South Africa, Brazil, Jamaica, Uganda, Singapore, Australia and Norway - it forces us to face the reality that American-style punishment has been chosen.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michelle Alexander" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-great-gift-of-incarceration-nations-is-that-by-introducing-a-wide/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Australia" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-great-gift-of-incarceration-nations-is-that-by-introducing-a-wide/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d12/michelle-alexander-750_australia_the-great-gift-of-incarceration-nations_3069626.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d12/michelle-alexander-750_australia_the-great-gift-of-incarceration-nations_3069626.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d12/michelle-alexander-750_australia_the-great-gift-of-incarceration-nations_3069626.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The great gift of 'Incarceration Nations' is that, by introducing a wide range of approaches to crime…” — Michelle Alexander", "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": "Michelle Alexander", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The great gift of 'Incarceration Nations'...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-great-gift-of-incarceration-nations-is-that-by-introducing-a-wide/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-great-gift-of-incarceration-nations-is-that-by-introducing-a-wide/#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 } } ] } ```