Discussion

How the 'free market' has devastated black communities 1. What are the policies that define neoliberalism (neoliberal capitalism)? The first policy is a significant reduction of Labor’s ability to organize, the second is a significant increase in Capitol’s ability to move across borders within the US and increasingly outside the US, the third is a significant reduction in the government’s ability to collect taxes, and the fourth is a significant reduction in the change in the nature of the welfare state.

2. Under neoliberal capitalism, social inequality has increased dramatically. Why does it increase? With the rise of technology and advancement, there is a great increase in productivity, but wages stagnate. Unions and Labor in this situation do not have the power that they are supposed to have. As union membership decreases, inequality rises at the same time.

3. What other social problems have increased under neoliberalism? Union membership decreases, welfare benefits decrease, incarceration rises in state prisons, all while inequality increases at the same time.

4. What effects has neoliberal had on cities? Cities are constrained in the sense that due to neoliberalism, cities can no longer collect revenue through taxes, can no longer get support from the state or federal government, and they are incentivized to do more to gain downtown investment. Some examples Spence used are the construction of harbors and stadiums in cities to attract more investments.

5. Spence says that under neoliberalism have become increasingly important. In particular he says they play two roles. What are those roles? How do police play those roles? The two roles for police are revenue generation and social control. The rise in police spending is significantly greater than the decrease in violent crime. Police would collect money from society and the police presence would scare people from committing crimes.

Boots Riley on Violence and the function of racism under capitalism

1. What is the role of violence in capitalist society? Violence is used as a type of force to regulate legal business. Violence is also used to regulate illegal business, as police in this situation cannot be used for that type of business. According to Riley, violence in black communities is a natural outgrowth of capitalism, and will not cease as long as capitalism continues to exist (Riley, 5:05).

2. The role of the police in capitalism? The police are the physical force that enforces the law, through physically stopping a person from committing a crime or through property zoning and closing off certain areas to discourage people from approaching. They are the physical force that regulates legal business.

3. What is the role of race and racism in capitalism? Riley states that “[race, class, political struggle, organization] need each other” (Riley, 1:00). Racism has a function and was created to justify the slave trade, make the white [European] working class feel safe, and the ruling class uses racism to exploit the working class. Racism brings in profit and as long as racism continues, the oppression of the working class as a whole does not look the same.

4. What is needed in order for capitalism to function? For capitalism to function, there needs to be a certain amount of unemployment to threaten the workers that exist, otherwise wages increase. Unemployment is an inseparable aspect of capitalism.

Slavery and the Prison Industrial Complex

1. According to Davis, what are the roots of the prison industrial complex? The roots stem from slavery and racism; according to Davis, prisons are the institutions and structures that have masked racism. We can look at the demographics of those incarcerated and see how racism is “embedded” into social, economic, and political structures. Women are generally not spoken about, but their sector around the world is rapidly growing, and the rate of black women being incarcerated is increasing the fastest.

2. What is the prison industrial complex? The prison industrial complex is a concept that the government and businesses join together in building and maintaining prisons for profit-driven purposes. The prison industrial complex, according to Davis, is an “entrenched social institution” that originally was supposed to be a democratic institution of reform and punishment.

3. What are some political and social consequences of mass incarceration? Some consequences of mass incarceration systemically deprive people of color from education, medical and mental health resources, and deprive incarcerated people of rights, suffering “civil deaths.” Other consequences involve taxpayers spending their money on these prisons and furthering the disparities in impoverished communities.

4. What is the link between capital punishment and racism? The prison system was meant to replace capital punishment and to be a democratic alternative to capital and corporal punishment. Capital punishment and racism are connected in a sense that they were also linked to slavery. The imbalance that for the white man, there was 1 offense would sentence them to the death penalty, while for the black slave, there were 66 offenses that would lead to the dealth penalty. The demographics of incarceration between people of color and white people demonstrates that there is still an imbalance. Slavery was abolished, but capital punishment still exists and is a legacy of slavery (Davis, 40:50). 5. What is abolitionism? Prison abolition has a connection with slavery according to Davis. Abolition is a movement that seeks to end slavery, the death penalty, imprisonment as punishment, etc.

6. What's something that stood out to you that you think others should pay attention to? I agreed with the insight and perspective Angela Davis had to offer. I thought it gave more clarity on the insidious nature of institutionalized racism specifically in prisons, how it hurts communities who are less privileged, and how institutionalized racism keeps these communities from thriving and progressing.