Are Prisons Obsolete?

Abolition, as it relates to prison activism, is a program of completely eradicating the institution of the prison. Davis affirms that “movements that assumed the radical stance of announcing the obsolescence of these institutions” (24)—such as slavery, segregation, and lynching—have been successful before, so prison abolition is also possible. Modern prisons are a web of complex relationships beyond the prison’s walls, which has led prisons to become institutions of oppression rather than rehabilitation. Abolitionists thus seek to rid society of not only the oppressive structure of prisons but also the various biased ideologies—like racism, sexism, and classism—that support the institution. Davis proposes that abolitionists should support programs of decarceration and decriminalization, and that they should imagine a justice system based on reparations and reconciliation rather than punishment.

Capitalism is the economic system of America and the Western world wherein private corporations—rather than the government—control industries of production for profit. Davis sees America’s capitalist system as increasingly involved in the justice system, particularly in its interest in prisons as a resource of cheap labor and controlled consumers. Davis observes that punishment and capitalism have been linked since the advent of penitentiaries: As capitalist industry began compensating work by the hour, prisons began calculating punishment by time owed to penitence (44).