Survival, Plato and the Ideal Society

Abstract

This chapter focuses on context, specifically the prison context. Introducing the theme through classroom discussions of Plato and the ideal society, the chapter describes previous work around the prison society. Drawing explicitly on classic and more recent prison sociological texts, Szifris outlines what is currently understood about how prisons work and what they are like for the individual entering them. The chapter concludes with a clear articulation of the survival identity.