Looking at Mass Incarceration Through Labeling Theory

When most people think about crime and mass incarceration, they view it as an individual problem, not a social problem. They think that only those incarcerated and their families are affected. They also most likely see it through the lens of rational choice theory. Meaning they think people commit crimes because they weighed the pros and cons and made the rational decision to commit a crime, not taking societal factors into account. When looking at mass incarceration through the lens of labeling theory, it is seen as a societal problem because it is societies fault for labeling someone as a criminal.  If people would see mass incarceration as society's fault, maybe more people would see it as a social crisis as opposed to a social problem that doesn’t affect most people. This is why I think labeling theory is the best theory to define mass incarceration.