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Gonzo Justice
Author(s) -
Altheide David L.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
symbolic interaction
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.874
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1533-8665
pISSN - 0195-6086
DOI - 10.1525/si.1992.15.1.69
Subject(s) - punishment (psychology) , economic justice , social control , enforcement , criminology , sociology , mass media , control (management) , compliance (psychology) , social psychology , law and economics , psychology , law , political science , social science , economics , management
The role of public discourse, social control, punishment and claims about justice are joined in this essay through the concept of gonzo justice. Gonzo justice refers to the use of extraordinary means to demonstrate social control and moral compliance through rule enforcement and punishment designed to stigmatize publicly, often through the mass media, and to demonstrate the moral resolve of those mandating the punishment. The collapsing of distinctions between the news media as chroniclers of public life and formal agents of control is illustrated with materials from an ongoing study of new forms of social control. The implications of making extraordinary sanctioning practices ordinary and routine are noted.