Angela Y. Davis has put the case for the latest abolition movement in American life: the abolition of the prison. As she quite correctly notes, American life is replete with abolition movements, and when they were engaged in these struggles, their chances of success seemed almost unthinkable. For generations of Americans, the abolition of slavery was sheerest illusion. Similarly, the entrenched system of racial segregation seemed to last forever, and generations lived in the midst of the practice, with few predicting its passage from custom. The brutal, exploitative (dare one say lucrative?) convict-lease system that succeeded formal slavery reaped millions to southern jurisdictions (and untold miseries for tens of thousands of men, and women). Few predicted its passing from the American penal landscape. Davis expertly argues how social movements transformed these social, political and cultural institutions, and made such practices untenable.
Are prisons obsolete?
Pretty much exactly what it says on the tin – Angela Davis explains why prisons are an outdated concept perpetuating racism, sexism and class discrimination; She moves on to talk about the prison-industrial complex, which I thought was very interesting, and ends with a short paragraph on abolitionist alternatives to prison. That last part is what makes me give the book « only » 4 stars: I was sold on the idea of abolition when I started the book, I’m even more convinced now, but I would have liked a longer, more detailed reflection about where to go from now.
Webmentions
[…] J’ai lu La prison est-elle obsolète en 2020 et je me rends compte que je n’ai jamais publié les notes de lecture faites dessus, je me suis contenté de republier l’avis de lecture. […]