What do you guys think about prison? I'm not just talking about the fucked-up prison system as it exists today in the US but more of prison as a concept, as a way to deal with crime in general.
There are a shit ton of articles out there, some of them written by people who aren't even that radical, that argue prison is essentially useless. They say it doesn't deter or solve crime, and actually exacerbates social ills.
Should socialists argue for prison abolition, not just under socialism but right now? What should we support in its place to deal with crime?
Justin Taylor
Crime happens for three reasons: a result of a combination of need, income inequality and capitalist thinking that your value as a human is directly tied to how many possessions you own and what their value is, mental instability and illness, or crimes of passion.
Abolition of private property (and capitalism) will take care of the first reason, second reason has to be dealt with medically through mental health professionals and institutions and third, well, I have no answer to the third. Two drunk guys get into a fight, it results in death, or a man walks in on his wife cheating on him kills both the wife and the guy, I guess a commune tribunal/council can decide appropriate punishment. A tribunal made up of people who know the person and people who don't know the person who committed a crime.
Joshua Reed
Prisoners are locked away for their own protection from reprisal killings and the general chaos that would follow from a lack of a formal punitive justice system.
This board is crawling with literal children and mental midgets.
Ayden Gonzalez
I thought it was a retarded idea until I read some article arguing that the point isn't to literally abolish prisons as soon as possible but to starve prisons of inmates by treating social ills in other ways, with the ultimate goal of making prisons useless
Adam White
Whatever Norway is doing it's doing it well.
Asher Ross
What do you guys think about prison? I think it is a great idea but the way the prison guard handled it isn't good because it doesn't stop them from committing the crimes when they are out of prisons. Most of them came back because they can't stop committing the crimes or suffering from maladjustments.
Yes and no. Some of them need to be in prison for life but others shouldn't be in prison.
Should socialists argue for prison abolition, not just under socialism but right now? Bad idea because there is too many bad people roaming free and hurting the people. We can't let them do whatever they please.
What should we support in its place to deal with crime? Execution for the usurers, rapists, murderers, traitors, pedos, thieves, spies, habitual or dangerous criminals. Other crimes that doesn't endanger people lives should be treated with physical punishments, fines, sterilization, retreatment centre, community service, education, military school, homes for the people with disabilities. I doubt some of the ideas will happen because of the capitalist system that prevent it from happening. The court system in my country is so broken as a result, no one have little or no faith in the court system. It's sad.
Carson Watson
I effed the format up.
Hudson Wilson
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Christopher Ward
Things like whippings, public humiliation, and public executions should be revived, since they increase people's fear of committing crimes, while in reality not causing any more suffering than current punishments.
