and Michael Walzer, "Private Prisons are Unjust"
Both authors begin with the premise that the government needs to be seen as legitimate and authoritative to
run effectively? Their central point of debate is: will turning our prison system over to private companies
cause the public and prison inmates to lose trust in the government's right to punish?
1. According to both authors, what would the consequences be of the public losing trust in the legitimacy and
authority of the prison system? What would the consequences be of prison inmates losing this trust?
2. Logan claims that the profit motive of private businesses is not something we should be as concerned about
as the critics of privatization think. What specific subclaims about "motives" does he make?
3. How does Walzer answer some of Logan's claims about these motives?
4. Logan also addressses fears that critics of privatization have about the possibility of corruption happening in
privately-owned or operated prisons (guard brutality against inmates, denial of due process). What does he
say about this subject?
5. What does Walzer say in response to this? How are the 'safeguards' against corruption, according to
Walzer, less powerful in a private prison than in a government-run prison?