Oct 12, 2024
The government imprisons people so capitalists can use them as slaves.
But for some strange reason, people think capitalism is freedom and anything else is big government tyranny.
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The government imprisons people so capitalists can use them as slaves.
But for some strange reason, people think capitalism is freedom and anything else is big government tyranny.
Prison labour really doing more for society than the cops ever will:
These young incarcerated firefighters are also being exploited for theri labour. So, please donate to:
Or donate directly to their commissaries if you can (I'm not sure if I can becos I'm not American):
UPDATE: turning off reblogs since voting is over for this cycle
this is absolutely not a "go vote or you're evil!" post BUT you should know that if you're registered to vote in Oregon, Alabama, Louisiana, Tennessee, or Vermont you have the opportunity to vote to abolish prison slavery this year, and i think you should strongly consider it.
from the washington post:
"The 13th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution bans slavery or involuntary servitude, except when it is used as punishment for a crime.
If passed, the proposals would wholly abolish slavery in those states, though they would not automatically change protocols on prison labor or inmate pay.
[...] the bills could give lawyers more license to pursue greater rights and higher pay for U.S. prisoners; Dolovich said that paying inmates below the minimum-wage protections set by each state is arguably 'a species of slavery.'
'It’ll be a fight in court. This question will be manifested by lawyers bringing cases on behalf of incarcerated workers,' she said. 'It’s a hopeful sign for me.'"
(Source; warning for more detailed discussion of prison slavery and related cruelty in the article)
so again, if you're able to vote and live in Oregon, Alabama, Louisiana, Tennessee, or Vermont, please consider it. prison abolition will not happen solely via voting it away but if these pass it will certainly be a victory and hopefully a stepping stone for other victories.
"The scholarly literature on convict labor has been oscillating between economic and political explanations. According to the former, prisoners are put to work chiefly to generate surplus from unfree labor power. The state benefits from convict labor to decrease the administrative costs and to make profit, or to provide cheap labor to private enterprises. In either case, use of forced labor in prisons allows the sovereign to get rid of all privileges of free workers (bargaining power, political organizations, historically acquired rights). The power oriented political explanations, however, oppose the profitability of convict labor and emphasize instead the organized violence of the state, the governmental strategies, and the creation of social control mechanisms. Disciplining the society may have economic ends (i.e., the repression of the working-class), but the immediate outcome of prison labor is not profit; in most cases, it is rather a financial burden to the state."
Footnote 2: The area and time period of research naturally tend to determine the theoretical perspectives. Nevertheless, regardless of the context, these two approaches constitute the main axes of the array of explanations. Classic works that represent these approaches are, respectively, Alex Lichtenstein, Twice the Work of Free Labor: The Political Economy of Convict Labor in the New South (London, 1996) and David Garland, The Culture of Control: Crime and Social Order in Contemporary Society (Chicago, 2001). For Lichtenstein’s later proposal for a more comprehensive analysis, see Alex Lichtenstein, “A ‘Labor History’ of Mass Incarceration,” Labor 8 (2011): 5–14.
- Ali Sipahi, "Convict Labor in Turkey, 1936–1953: A Capitalist Corporation in the State?" International Labor and Working-Class History No. 90 (Fall 2016): p. 244.
Seems like the US regime's goal is now this:
Use undocumented immigrants, refugees, unhoused people, trans people, and people of color for prison slavery
Manufacture more domestically again through prison slavery and removal of labor protections
Make disabled people dependent on others and let them die by destroying welfare systems
Force more indigenous people off their lands for resource exploitation
Exploit more resources domestically through removal of environmental laws and treaty breaking
Force white women to have more white children through discriminatory hiring and and outlawing as many abortions as possible
Encourage white men to be policemen and soldiers with better pay while other options lose money
The US regime no longer thinks it can live off the blood of those beyond its borders. This inward pivot will not be enough to save it in the long run, but it will show off its full horror to those of us inside it.
Social studies, Middle School or High School
Constructed response questions:
Drawing upon your prior knowledge, list a few products that would have been produced using slave labor prior to emancipation.
Other than that the African slave trade, what kind of working conditions would you consider to justify something being called slave labor?
If the Confederacy had won the civil war, or the union had never outlawed slavery, what kinds of products do you think would be produced using slave labor today?
How would you react if you found out that slave labor was still being practiced in America to produce things that you use in your daily life?
Listen to one or more of the following stories, then revisit your answers. What did you learn, and how does that change how you feel?
All Things Considered on NPR One | 6:40
Planet Money on NPR One | 30:49
Freakonomics Radio from WNYC Radio on NPR One | 38:36
Prison/Human Rights Abuses Round Up: Published 11/11/25 AM
Understaffing, outdated facilities and poor management have led to filthy conditions in jails in St. Louis, Cleveland and Hinds County, Miss
Inmate firefighters in California will receive higher pay and the state will make permanent firefighting camps that train and educate young
CW: Child Abuse.
David spent eight months incarcerated at the Youth Justice and Education Center. Center portrait by Kevin Wurm / MLK50 / CatchLight Local /
Over a four-year period between 2019 and 2023, nearly 4,000 people died in U.S. jails, according to data compiled by The Marshall Project.