Are Prisons Obsolete Summary

The purpose of Angela Y.Davis in the last two chapters of the book “Are Prisons Obsolete” are the issues that nestled inside the prison industrial complex and what should we do to the abolitionist.

In the beginning of chapter “The Prison Industrial Complex”, the author provides the perspective on the relationship between military industrial and the prison industrial complex. As she writes, these two industrial complex combine and create a symbiotic relationship, for example, the military shares its technologies to the police force so they can use it to throw people to jail. But it is not just stop at sharing technologies, like Angela writes: “the links between the military, corporations, and government are growing stronger, not weaker” (citation). Also, the author is so right

to say that “both systems generate huge profits from processes of social destruction”, it is all about the politicians who supports these systems through “devours public funds”, increasing the dominance of racially regime and using money to imprison people. In addition, it indirectly promotes the developments of prison industry which is making profit of prisoner. Besides, she mentions about the antiprison, Angela claims that the antiprison activists need not only find and solve the issues of prisons themselves, but also analyze the root of those issues, who make it and who get benefits from it. Moreover, she proves that the root of these issues are the capitalism and prison industrial complex so the reformation of the prisons cannot really solve these issues.
In the last chapter “Abolitionist Alternatives”, “Since the 1980s, the prison system has become increasingly ensconced in the economic, political and ideological life of the United States and the transnational trafficking in U.S.

commodities, culture, and ideas.”(citation). She emphasizes that making profit on prison industry is increasing rapidly. For example, companies are using prison labor for saving money, as inhuman profit. In order to prevent, the prison abolition at first needs to decline the symbiotic relationship between profit and prisoner. In addition, Angela provides more information to prove how unfair the prison system is. Moreover, the reason of the enduring existence of this system is the support from high class and privileged people and so, the victims are mainly poor and colored people. (“If we insist that abolitionist alternatives trouble these relationships, that they strive to disarticulate crime and punishment, race and punishment, class and punishment, and gender and punishment, then our focus must not rest only on the prison system as an isolated institution but must also be directed at all the social relations that support the permanence of the prison.”

(citation)).