On the Obsolescence of Prisons- a satirical consideration

 On the Obsolescence of Prisons

There comes a time when- in regard to the grandiosity and magnitude of our prison industrial complex discerning, historically minded individuals will ask the question- is the current system still optimal? I am arguing for the total removal of any carceral or justice system. Rather, I invite readers to consider if what we know as the prison industrial complex is still the most efficient manner by which the various tasks it accomplishes can be realized. Despite how cost effective it is, it is not free, and the acquisition of new labor requires new criminals to be constantly convicted which means the definition of jailable crime is constantly widening- I would say to an unreasonable degree- to ‘capture’ new labor. This unnecessary inefficiency can be removed. 

Depending on your definition, slavery in America can be said to have ended anywhere from the passage of the 14th amendment to never. This is due to what is known as ‘neoslavery’ shouldering the economic burden of the former system during the period directly after Radical Reconstruction. This transitioned into the industrial prison system we now know and profit from. However, there are several cases from this time period that are of note. As soon as convict labor was purchasable, enterprising former slave owners began constructing elaborate debt peonage systems such that through a complex process legal manipulation any individual on the street could essentially be brought up on charges for crimes that seem to us strange and arcane. I needn’t explain debt peonage here but suffice to say many operations existed that manufactured free labor in this fashion. When they were discovered by authorities they were deemed ‘indistinguishable from slavery’ and shut down.

Interestingly however, the owners and perpetrators were not convicted of anything because while the 13th and 14th amendment protect individuals from slavery- nowhere in the constitution or bill of rights is engaging in slavery listed as an explicit act or crime. This ‘loophole’ is crucial to the argument I would make regarding the dismantling of the prison industrial complex. 

I would posit that the current system of industrial convict labor we use- is fundamentally and essentially the same as the neoslavery rings of the post-Reconstruction era. I will describe the similarities  henceforth: convict leasing used complex Black Codes to impress black prisoners into forced debt peonage with impossible contracts that they could not escape. This is objectively slavery. The modern Prison Industrial Complex uses mandatory minimums and drastic disparity in sentence lengths to convict racial minorities for drug crimes, and other low stakes transgressions, then transmute this into years of servitude to the state. Once in prison these racial prisoners are trapped in a ‘catch and release’ system where even in the event that they manage to get up for parole and are able to get out on good behavior they are highly likely to be brought back in for another crime due to being ‘marked’ as state property. Eventually their sentence will exceed their lifespan and they will be unable to escape. This is slavery with several extra steps. 

The original convict leasing/debt peonage slavery schemes were shut down for being slaving rings- as they were. But if we were to simply develop another method of slavery that was technically more compliant then what is the point? An accurate reading of the Bill of Rights would suggest that we shut down all modern prisons as a component of a tremendous modern industrial slavery complex. 

So, what would happen then? Some would suggest a move to a restitutive model. On its face this seems like the optimal outcome. Restitutive justice appears to be the more caring and human of all available systems. However, even a moment of consideration yields the realization that it would be an economic and societal DISASTER. The fallout apparent when direct slavery was dismantled would be nothing compared to this. Because our society needs workers that can operate at a low marginal cost. At first it was slaves, now it is prisoners. It is simply the way of capitalist development. If we are so inclined that we must correct the hypocrisy and engage in the dismantling of our prison system then there really is only one solution:  

A regression to direct chattel slavery would be the appropriate solution to solving all presented issues. The consciousness of the country desires it- it is clear. It would also correct the fallacious hypocrisy of the prison industrial complex. The identifiable fact that this is a white supremacist system cannot be challenged- it is supported by systems of capitalist slavery, orientalist war, and colonial genocide. It has been constructed this way from the outset. As such, it would be unfaithful, intellectually irresponsible, and hypocritical to make changes that direct us away from our foundational systems. The truest and most accurate version of the United States- one that is within our reach- is the one that embraces slavery, isolates itself from all foreign allies, and engages in not only brinkmanship and war, but genocidal efforts at all available opportunities. 

So, with all this established, it is inarguable from all moral stances that from this truest version of the union a utilitarian wonder would emerge. I would posit, in this unofficial second beat of the argument- that were the first half to come to pass a, general acceptance would appear that act utilitarianism is the most appropriate moral sentiment to guide ourselves with. This is not to say that the state would dissolve and anarchy would reign. Rather, that the state would take control over the judgment of all morally consequential actions- and thus a utilitarianism motivated authoritarian state communism would develop. I say authoritarian state communism rather than merely authoritarian communism because market and capitalistic functionality would be able to continue as usual, but due to the economic benefits conferred by state operated chattel slavery, the state would be able to provide at the very least the sufficiencies of living for everyone. 

So, now, having made this- what I would consider to be a modest proposal that holds great consequence for the future of this nation- I will leave it at the mercy of our respectable House and Senate. For nothing is more American than for the privileged few to decide the fate of the disenfranchised, marginalized, eternally punished many.