*Resending* Thoughts about prison abolition and our need for retribution
*Resend* I had changed the email address this newsletter was sending from and it caused some delivery issues. I have changed it back and am re-sending it here. Sorry if this gets delivered to you twice!
Hi!
The prison abolition movement caught my eye recently. This school of thought seeks to dismantle the entire prison system, and replace it with effective alternatives to punishment. Their ideas are distinct from prison reform, which proposes to improve the effectiveness of prisons and combat abuse from within. Prison abolition is based largely on the American context which differs greatly from Singapore. However, it is worth exploring because imprisonment is a global concept. Singapore might be very different from America, but, being a country that prides itself on the rule of law (and which also continues to have corporal punishment and the death penalty), it is important we get our basis for punishment right. I would like two share two thoughts related to this: First, how our need for retribution distorts the considerations for imprisonment. Second, why we should be willing to work towards utopian ideals.
Why remove prisons?
There are various data backed arguments cited for the problems of prisons. I attempt to broadly summarise them here.
Prisons do not reduce crime. Prisons not only fail to reduce crime, they worsen it. Ex-convicts have difficulty re-integrating into society, and face difficult employment prospects, leading to financial troubles. They then turn back towards criminal activity. Focusing on punishment as the solution to crime also takes away resources from other means of crime prevention such as community improvement.
Prisons exacerbate inequality. In the US, a disproportionate number of persons of color are imprisoned, reducing social mobility for minority races. Prison is such a terrible experience that those with resources will expend all effort to stay out of it, while those without resources are easily subject to the system.
Abuse. Imprisonment is a suspension of rights, and a declaration that, for a period, this person is an "evildoer". This creates the conditions for exploitation and abuse. Poor living conditions and abuse by guards comes to mind, but it could go further as corporations use cheap prison labor, or as medical tests.
We have had prisons for so long, yet crime still exists. Further, the amount of effort to hold prisons accountable to these problems might not be worth their effect on crime. It is clear we are far from a perfect solution and should be willing to think hard about our approach to punishment.
Prisons and our need for retribution
Prisons have a physical purpose. They deter crime, exclude dangerous persons from society, and to allow a space to rehabilitate. However they also serve an intangible purpose, which is to satisfy society's need for retribution. We need to feel that who commit wrongs are made to suffer payback for it. However, retribution on its own merely pleases the psyche and has no tangible value to society. If we could move away from this as a society, then in the context of prisons and punishment, there is room to look further into better ways to achieve the other means.
Can we live without retribution?
In the context of crime and punishment, removing retribution from the analysis would help us to focus on overcoming the more practical considerations for reforming our punishment system. In a wider context, retribution causes to respond to a negative act with a negative act. It is destructive. We ought to recognise that the need for retribution is a dark side within us to be changed, rather than fed.
An argument against any reforms to reduce punishment is that we cannot expect the victim of sexual assault of violence to forgive their attackers. The punishment is necessary for them to feel vindicated and to recover. With retribution so deeply ingrained into our everyday lives, to ask someone to put this aside in the most extreme of cases is unfair and unrealistic. We take revenge to be so normal, we even now have a concept of revenge shopping. We feel a need to respond to everything, no matter how small. I often see a look of satisfaction when someone talks about how they scolded another person. Just a few weeks ago, I was being tailgated while driving. I felt offended and decided that I needed some payback, and chose to slow down enough to keep him stuck. Looking back at this now, I felt pretty smart back then, but now I am quite ashamed of my own behavior, and probably did nothing to improve the other driver's behavior.
Start by refusing retribution in small things
Instead, change should start small, where the stakes are low. We can learn to get used to letting things pass and responding better. There are many chances for this every day: stay calm when our lanes are cut, refrain from scolding someone for the sake of it, not hitting children in anger. Even when we do nothing, we may hope in our minds something bad happens to those who offend us. Let these thoughts pass by as quickly as possible. As we get used to doing this for small things, we will be better placed to moderate our responses when serious issues occur. I do not mean that we let ourselves be taken advantage of, we should still speak up when we are wronged, but we can do so in a way that is not intended solely to get our revenge.
Learning to not need revenge benefits us directly. We will not always be able to get the retribution we want for everything that happens to us. We may never find the person who wronged us, or have a chance to deliver payback. It then becomes a source of pain in our minds that cannot be purged. Even small unanswered wrongs will add up and contribute to our suffering.
Don't dismiss ideas for being utopian
When I first read about prison abolition, my instinctive response was that this is crazy and not workable. Indeed its detractors would counter this a utopian pipe dream. Is it truly impossible, or do we lack willingness to change the status quo? Prisons have become so entrenched into our history that it seems like society cannot function without them. As I mention above, part of the need for prisons might be self created. Even worse, institutions like prisons might be intentionally entrenched to the benefit of certain interest groups.
All good ideas seem utopian when first considered. Imprisonment itself was born out of a willingness to change punishment practices. Prisons began as a holding system before slavery or torture, the actual punishments in the past. As slavery and torture were abolished, imprisonment was seen as the more humane way to punish. Slavery was originally so normal that calls for their removal were similarly seen as utopian. Many people in the past could not imagine life without slaves. Yet now we would not condone it. To continue to critically assess whether prisons as a form of punishment is consistent with its very existence.
Election campaigning the past 2 weeks showcased various discussions about Singapore's government. One theme that appeared was the battle between utopian and practical proposals - "how would we pay for it" was a common response. It is easy to shut down an idea as simply being utopian because it does not fit the existing norm. However, we have demonstrated that we are able to make huge change, take risks, and adapt. In the span of a few years our lives have already changed drastically. It is now normal to give away our personal data to social media, trust automated platforms to match us with drivers and holiday homes, and purchase currencies created out of server rooms. We can and should ask for that which is utopian, and be willing to put in the effort to change ourselves for it.
Do drop me a mail if these triggered any thoughts in you. Do you think reducing our need for revenge, or abolishing prisons is possible? What would you do differently instead? I am also to also hear thoughts and discuss the election, where the country is headed, and to talk about how we can all contribute to society.
I have also recently found some pleasure browsing twitter! (it feels like instagram for thoughts) I currently have no followers and am not sure how to really grow this, so have not posted anything. But, if you would be interested to hear some sporadic thoughts, please follow using the button below and perhaps I will start posting there too.
Stay safe!
James
About Ideothetic Flow
Ideothetic Flow is a small passion project where I share my reflections on challenging common norms and trying to be a better person.
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