Neighborhood Justice in Capitalist Society: The Expansion of the Informal State

The management of interpersonal social conflict within the American judicial system is changing. Of particular interest is the trend toward informal, decentralized alternatives to the courts for the resolution of many civil disputes. A manifestation of this trend, Neighborhood Dispute Resolution or NDR offers a means of resolving conflicts in a voluntary, peaceable manner without the intervention of attorneys. Proponents of NDR say that it is economical, efficient and fair. NDR, however, may not be the panacea it appears to be on the surface, argues the author. A Marxist interpretation of recent developments in state-sponsored alternatives to courts for the resolution of disputes, this book devises a framework for exploring the relationship between disruptions in reproducing the social order of American capitalism and transformations in the capitalist state that make these dispute mechanisms possible.