There’s somewhat of a contradiction in the western left on crime and policing. On one hand, you have the maximalist position: that the whole system is illegitimate, that it has been and is used to uphold white supremacy and destroy opposition to capital, “as long as there is a soul in prison I am not free,” etc. On the other hand, real crimes happen, and it offends even leftists’ sense of justice if a serious crime receives no more than a slap on the wrist.
I look at it like schools. As a state institution under capitalism, they in part serve to uphold the interests of capital. But they also serve a public interest that would still exist under any political structure.
I’m not a prison abolitionist
There’s somewhat of a contradiction in the western left on crime and policing. On one hand, you have the maximalist position: that the whole system is illegitimate, that it has been and is used to uphold white supremacy and destroy opposition to capital, “as long as there is a soul in prison I am not free,” etc. On the other hand, real crimes happen, and it offends even leftists’ sense of justice if a serious crime receives no more than a slap on the wrist.
I look at it like schools.
As a state institution under capitalism, they in part serve to uphold the interests of capital. But they also serve a public interest that would still exist under any political structure.