Final answer:
Industrial prisons are linked to the 'prison-industrial complex,' reflecting the interplay between corporations and the growing U.S. prison population. Factors such as race and poverty are significant growth contributors, and private prisons do exist as part of the mix, with some owned by businesses focusing on profit, sometimes to the detriment of quality and human rights.
Step-by-step explanation:
The concept of industrial prisons often relates to the prison-industrial complex, a term representing the dramatic increase in the U.S. prison population and the perceived complicity of businesses in this growth. This complex suggests that the expansion is linked to political and corporate efforts, where large businesses have significant interests in the burgeoning industry, supplying goods and services to the justice system, including the operation of private prisons.
Recent federal statistics indicate an alarming rise in the inmate population from 200,000 in 1970 to around 2.2 million after 40 years, hinting at systemic issues beyond simply improved law enforcement. Scholars like Angela Davis argue that factors such as race and poverty significantly contribute to this growth, with a societal trend toward incarceration as a quick fix to more intractable social troubles.
Although not all prisons are owned by businesses, the corrections system in the US does include both public and private operations, with private prisons known for focusing on cost efficiency, sometimes at the expense of service quality and human rights. Furthermore, the overrepresentation of minorities in prisons, their subsequent disfranchisement, and difficulties in finding employment post-incarceration, exacerbate social and economic disparities, feeding back into the cycle of incarceration.