Safety Utopia

This book is about senseless violence and silent marches, about politics of decency and child pornography (and particularly about our abhorrence of it), about religion and living on the edge, about victims and offenders in that order, and especially about crime and punishment. The Safety Utopia is a diagnosis of modern culture. Fighting crime has become part of a general desire for safety resulting from a combination of real risks and a vital lifestyle.The Safety Utopia describes the implicit hope that vitality and safety can come together. This longing is an illusion and it is not without danger - a utopia is also a power fantasy in which control and punishment play a major role. A great deal is expected from criminal law, but that can hardly bring a safety utopia any closer. The utopian desire gives an impulse to moral renewal and community forming. Safety unites, but how? That is the crucial question of our time.This book will be of interest to those working in the areas of criminology, sociology, philosophy, criminal law and punishment, and cultural studies. It will also be of interest to policymakers working in Police and Justice Departments.