Are Prisons Obsolete?
by Angela Y. Davis, Aurora Ballester · first published 2003
11mentions
8recommended by
11HN commenters
2013–2025first – last mentioned
73% recommend27% neutral
Why HN recommends it
A short, accessible argument that the prison system is a racist institution and that abolition deserves serious consideration. It suits readers new to prison abolition and the history of mass incarceration.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Amid rising public concern about the proliferation and privatization of prisons, and their promise of enormous profits, world-renowned author and activist Angela Y. Davis argues for the abolition of the prison system as the dominant way of responding to America's social ills. - publisher (allegedly)
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The crazy thing is that mass incarceration is relatively new in the US. Are Prisons Obsolete by Angela Davis was a real eye-opener for me.
on “Private Prisons Are Behind the Push for Homeless Criminalization” ↗The solution isn't making a more efficient competitor to Jpay. The solution is abolishing prisons. Angela Davis has written a good short book on this subject called "Are Prisons Obsolete?".
on “Prison Bankers Who Profit from the Inmates” ↗…insists on pressing charges. Now the kid is not only labeled a sex offender for life, but his listing says victim was a minor. Our whole approach to criminal "justice" is deeply flawed. Recommended reading: Are Prisons Obsolete by Angela Y. Davis: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1583225811/donhosek
on “We’re no longer naming suspects in minor crime stories” ↗Don't forget her book "Are Prisons Obsolete?" https://www.amazon.com/Are-Prisons-Obsolete-Angela-Davis/dp/...
on “Experience: I spent 29 years in solitary confinement (2010)” ↗…of people who are incarcerated as well as at a large scale in how Amercian society supports prisons as a racist institution. I urge everyone looking for starting knowledge to start with Angela Davi's Are Prisons Obsolete?: http://www.amazon.com/Are-Prisons-Obsolete-Angela-Davis/dp/1...
on “Solitary in Iran Nearly Broke Me. Then I Went Inside America's Prisons” ↗…(17th c.). At least the preface (around 100 pages) and maybe a smattering of the book proper. It's hard to explain - better to look it up. For something more recent and immediately relevant, I think "Are Prisons Obsolete?" by Angela Davis was quite eye opening about the history of racism in law enforcement and the production of the modern prison system.
on “Ask HN: What is one book you would recommend everyone to read?” ↗…government-run and managed prisons. For any one truly interested in questioning the whole idea of putting some people that some other people deem a menace into (super expensive) cages, I recommend reading "Are Prisons Obsolete?" http://www.feministes-radicales.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/...
on “Justice Department says it will end use of private prisons” ↗…https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/umberto-eco-ur-fasci... Edit: you're also very wrong about number 2, you just haven't been exposed to people proposing solutions. Here is a 20 year old very famous book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Are_Prisons_Obsolete%3F?wprov=...
on “Cops still take more stuff from people than burglars do” ↗…enforcement agencies, and to be more precise as an anarcha-feminist i believe their structure and culture is part of the problem, promoting many forms of abuse across society. See for example Angela Davis in "Are prisons obsolete?" or Emma Goldman in "Prisons: a social crime and failure" for (dated) explorations of these questions.
on “Modern XMPP” ↗…players and systems at work. For example, there are thousands of companies and a wide range of contracts in both private and public prisons: it is a whole network of parties with vested interests. In Are Prisons Obsolete, Angela Davis explains that, “…even if private prison companies were prohibited – an unlikely prospect, indeed-the prison industrial complex and its many strategies for profit would remain relatively…
on “In Maine, prisoners are thriving in remote jobs” ↗…https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520242012/golden-gulag [2] Abolition Geography and the Problem of Innocence. In Futures of Black Radicalism, G. T.. Johnson and A. Loubin (Eds.). New York: Verso, 225–240. [3] Are Prisons Obsolete? https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/213837/are-prisons-... [4] If They Come in the Morning … Voices of Resistance, Edited by Angela Y. Davis, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/If_They_Come_in_the_Morning…
on “Study: All non-violent criminals jailed on minor drug offence should be released” ↗