Ruth Gilmore
This reading by Gilmore was very interesting and shocking to read. I was so surprised to the percentage of people who are in prisons. Nearly 2 million people are locked up in prisons in California. Mostly African-American and Latino men make up the majority of persons who are doing prison time.
The “crisis” started with the moral panic over crime. Young people on the street, people of color (black and brown) out of control. During the 70’s and 80’s drug epidemic exploded. Leaving many families without fathers and husbands to provide for their families economically. This became a social crisis. Gilmore argues and explains that crisis and surplus work hand and hand. This means that the society can reproduce itself as it did before in the past. Through crisis comes struggle and people struggle because they have no other choice.
People who are convicted of crime and have done prison time are subject to a lot of restrictions. Prisoners with records are not eligible for benefit and entitlements (i.e. Food stamps, housing and their right to vote) are taken away. Making people with conviction records lives extremely hard and not much hope for a better life. A lot of convicts would go back and commit new crimes becoming a cycle. California in 1982 planned only to replace small prisons. But instead made room for new “mega prisons” which are built and in use now. The State of California used money raised to buy land and built prisons. Also, California make new laws that guarantee convicts to fill their prisons. The majority of revenue comes from the prison system at an enormous levels. In the US almost 95 per cent are either publicly owned. Making prisoners require to work in the public sectors, there work would pay their own cost and make the state a profit on their free labor. Military Keynesianism is an increasingly building of prison. This military Keynesianism was made after the Great Depression (WWII). Nixon in 1968 explained why so many prisons were built because of the social disorder, rise in crime and drug use. In the US having almost two million people in prisons.
Lastly, Gilmore counter explanation is about racism and profit off the prisoners free labor. The prison system has an underlying “racism” which is behind the prison industrial complex on working men and women. The laws must be reformed so that people don’t have to do such long prison times. Also, the US must implement programs (work development, free education) and give convicts more opportunity to get out of these criminal activities. The US must enforce unity and freedom to all people.
