Many prison reformists yearn for the end of imprisonment but find themselves confronted by questions which seem difficult to answer:
- What do we do about those who pose “a danger” to society? Don’t we have to solve that problem before we can advocate the abolition of prisons?
- Is it possible to work for short term prison reforms without being coopted?
- If we devote our energies to abolition, are we not abandoning prisoners to intolerable conditions?
- How can we work for needed prison reforms which require structural change within the society, before a new social order comes about?
As some of these important questions are addressed, we will discover that many reforms can be achieved in an abolition context. The primary issue for abolitionists is not always one of reform over/against abolition. There are “surface reforms” which legitimize or strengthen the prison system, and there are “abolishing-type reforms” which gradually diminish its power and function. Realizing the differences requires some radical shifts in our perceptions, lest we fall into the trap which has plagued earlier generations. Our goal is to replace prison, not improve it.
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Thanks for this - it’ll take me awhile to work through it, especially because I’m already bouncing off it (questioning existing systems is usually like that, though the sheer scope of things they’re reevaluating before providing solutions is a little overwhelming). I’ll get it eventually; it’s something I’ve been on the lookout for.
In the small bit of solarpunk fiction I’ve read and discussions I’ve seen, I’ve felt a bit like the genre/community sort of sidesteps questions around the use and preventions of violence and how to handle individuals and groups who want to cause harm (with the exception of Walkaway, and Terraformers for opposing organizations). I know the underlying philosophies and movements like anarchism have been around for a long time so I figured they had answers, but haven’t dug into them yet.
I suppose I’m pessimistic enough to see bad times ahead - scarcity of airable land, water, and society-derived stuff like medicines - and to expect that any more solarpunk societies would only build themselves up in space made mostly after our current systems break enough not to oppose them. With that kind of postapocalyptic bent in mind, it’s tempting to picture something like the old west or early colonial societies’ answers to these questions. I’m interested to see the alternatives.
The future that abolitionists work towards is quite similar to a solarpunk vision—in that everyone’s needs are to be met and humanity is to live in harmony with the natural world. This is because meeting needs—including land and ecological rights—are integral to a future without policing or incarceration.
