A Marxist Reconstruction of Imprisonment

The current disparate racial and socioeconomic statistics among felons suggest that
laws mainly protect the interests of the bourgeoisie. Based on Marxist thinking, the prison
system as a social control tool entrenches socioeconomic inequalities.
Although treating offenders as animals or enemies allows the state to deter crimes by
incarcerating criminals, the criminal justice system facilitates capitalism. Prison labor and
private prisons promote capitalist ventures. Jackson (2017) observes that incarceration also
affects the job prospects of former felons. Accordingly, this entrenches economic inequalities
and poverty since ex-convicts tend to burden their families after failing to find employment.
Equating criminals to misfits or state enemies unfairly targets the poor and
marginalized groups. For instance, America’s drug war increased the number of incarcerated
African Americans reducing the capacity of their households to rise from poverty (Christie,
2016). Conversely, white-collar crimes receive less attention, and some governments are
unwilling to punish companies because this would affect the attractiveness of their markets to
investors. This results in disparate incarceration rates and capitalism that oppresses the poor.
Under the social contract theory, felons surrender their rights to live within society.
Yet, most offenders are from financially-excluded communities turning crime into a class
conflict (Howarth, 2018). Further, courts impose fines on marginalized groups. To this end,
incarceration promotes capitalism by assuring corporates and the ruling elite that the state
will punish individuals who commit property crimes or other offenses that might affect trade.
Although offenders are incarcerated for violating laws, attempts to investigate law
enforcement suggest that laws are formulated for the benefit of the bourgeoisie. Indeed, this
entrenches economic inequalities since capitalism promote material accumulation effectively
turning crimes into class conflicts. In light of this, the prison system reveals the state’s failure
to free the working class from laws that promote the interests of the ruling.

A MARXIST RECONSTRUCTION OF IMPRISONMENT 3

References

Christie, N. (2016). Crime control as industry: Towards gulags, western style. Taylor &
Francis.
Howarth, E. (2018, January 25). Overrepresentation in criminal justice systems. LSE
Undergraduate Political
Review. https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lseupr/2018/01/25/overrepresentation-in-criminal-
justice-systems/
Jackson, T. A. (2017). Dilution of the Black vote: Revisiting the oppressive methods of
voting rights restoration for ex-felons. U. Miami Race & Soc. Just. L. Rev., 7, 297.