Slaves are part of the slave class which in the US is reflected in the carceral state as you have pointed out.
But call them slaves as that is what they are. We have taken their identity. And we have taken their rights. And we sell them into work. We do no favors calling prisoners anything but slaves because they have been erased institutionally.
Not every state has the ability to force labor (generally per their state constitutions), if I remember a conversation I had years ago with my dad who was a judge. Just they tend to structure their prison sentencing and early release programs such that you're trading years more of your life if you don't "voluntarily" cooperate. So you know, tomato tomato.
It's one of the bigger problems my state has, its reliance on its prisoner-slave workforce for vital services.
Used to be that China was on par in that regard say... 10? 15 years ago? I remember seeing a comparison, it was more neck at neck, but I think they reduced it and the US massively increased it, so it's high but not US high.
Similarly something about military spending; same US ballooning in the past few decades.
I used to joke that reagen spent the ussr to death (I've learned a titch more about that era of history since then, as i really didn't remember politics beyond SNL at that age) and now I'm feeling the same squeeze from China.
$11b worth of goods and services sounds like a lot, except that there are at least 1 million people locked up. Even if they don't have to pay the prisoners for their labour, the cost of keeping them locked up is much, much higher than the value of any labour they perform.
Yeah.. according to the stats in this post, about 1.9 million people are behind bars.
11 billion a year between 1.9 million prisioners is about 6k per year per prisoner.
So that's about $500 a month per prisoner. Which is not as big of a number.. and according to the article, the prisoners still get paid a fraction of it.. it's just that 80% is used "for room and board, court costs, restitution and other fees, including the construction and maintenance of prisons".
29 Comments
Prunebutt@slrpnk.net · 80 pts · 43d
Reminder that slavery is still legal in the US, if theworker is incarcerated.
TheReturnOfPEB@reddthat.com · 16 pts · 43d
They are not called workers, then.
They are called slaves, then.
Workers are part of the proletariat.
Slaves are part of the slave class which in the US is reflected in the carceral state as you have pointed out.
But call them slaves as that is what they are. We have taken their identity. And we have taken their rights. And we sell them into work. We do no favors calling prisoners anything but slaves because they have been erased institutionally.
Prunebutt@slrpnk.net · 7 pts · 43d
Workers as is "people who work". Not as in "the class of the proletariat". 🙄
HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 43d
Not every state has the ability to force labor (generally per their state constitutions), if I remember a conversation I had years ago with my dad who was a judge. Just they tend to structure their prison sentencing and early release programs such that you're trading years more of your life if you don't "voluntarily" cooperate. So you know, tomato tomato.
It's one of the bigger problems my state has, its reliance on its prisoner-slave workforce for vital services.
avidamoeba@lemmy.ca · 26 pts · 43d
ZoDoneRightNow@kbin.earth · 24 pts · 43d
China is not a founding NATO country
Phantaloons@piefed.zip · -12 pts · 43d
Doesn't stop them from incarcerating like one. Maybe they'll earn an invite soon.
Kojichan@lemmy.world · 21 pts · 43d
Neat to see where China sits in this list, despite not being in Nato.
Kinda has an interesting perspective.
zikzak025@lemmy.world · 15 pts · 43d
China isn't in NATO
IAmNorRealTakeYourMeds@lemmy.world · 14 pts · 43d
What is your point? that China is more free than known fascist state Portugal and the UK?
Fancy_Gecko@lemmy.ml · 9 pts · 42d
lmao you people are the worst hypocrites ever , no matter what the west does you'll just turn around and say WHATABOUT CHINA !!
Alfredolin@sopuli.xyz · 5 pts · 42d
What? I think it goes along OP's point and is a nice reference to add.
Or what's the problem? I mean China is doing good on the graph in comparison to USA. Very good.
Everyone - except you, US -, please give yourself a tap on the shoulder.
theuniqueone@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 6 pts · 43d
"in founding nato countries"
taiyang@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 43d
Used to be that China was on par in that regard say... 10? 15 years ago? I remember seeing a comparison, it was more neck at neck, but I think they reduced it and the US massively increased it, so it's high but not US high.
Similarly something about military spending; same US ballooning in the past few decades.
HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 43d
I used to joke that reagen spent the ussr to death (I've learned a titch more about that era of history since then, as i really didn't remember politics beyond SNL at that age) and now I'm feeling the same squeeze from China.
Cowbee@lemmy.ml · 6 pts · 42d
China is a dictatorship of the proletariat, incarceration rates need to be understood by the class in control of the state.
Aedis@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 43d
alapakala@quokk.au · 1 pts · 43d
Damn, this changes my emigration plans…
TheReturnOfPEB@reddthat.com · 18 pts · 43d
As the law requires US military gear to be made in the USA ... guess who gets to make it as repetitive cheapest bidder ?
Seems like the USA is really more like Sparta than maybe it wants to admit.
Zephyr@sh.itjust.works · 15 pts · 43d
They're trying to build a prison for you and me to live in
merc@sh.itjust.works · 4 pts · 42d
$11b worth of goods and services sounds like a lot, except that there are at least 1 million people locked up. Even if they don't have to pay the prisoners for their labour, the cost of keeping them locked up is much, much higher than the value of any labour they perform.
Ferk@lemmy.ml · 3 pts · 41d
Yeah.. according to the stats in this post, about 1.9 million people are behind bars.
11 billion a year between 1.9 million prisioners is about 6k per year per prisoner.
So that's about $500 a month per prisoner. Which is not as big of a number.. and according to the article, the prisoners still get paid a fraction of it.. it's just that 80% is used "for room and board, court costs, restitution and other fees, including the construction and maintenance of prisons".
vivalapivo@lemmy.today · -3 pts · 43d
Russia solved this problem
HonoraryMancunian@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 43d
Their incarceration rate is still quite high at 197
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_incarceration_rate
vivalapivo@lemmy.today · 1 pts · 43d
Should be even less today. Today it's about 210
rbc.ru/rbcnews/society/04/03/2026/69a813889a794753b3684625
HonoraryMancunian@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 43d
Why have you sent me a 404 link with a video in Russian?
And 210 is higher than 179
vivalapivo@lemmy.today · 1 pts · 42d
It was 197 in 2024 and 400 in 2021
vivalapivo@lemmy.today · 1 pts · 43d
rbc.ru/society/04/03/2026/69a813889a794753b3684625
If you're not Russian state government official
Zephyr@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 43d
Can't imprison corpses I guess.
Phantaloons@piefed.zip · 2 pts · 43d
bone meal crunches under each bootstep
"Yep, we solved it."