gilmore-2017-abolition_geography_and_the_problem_of_innocence

Chapter 14: Abolition Geography and the Problem of Innocence

1. Money and Capitalism: Money relates to payoffs, wages, and accumulation. The prison system embodies strategies of regional accumulation. The transition of money from exchange to goal influences capitalism, highlighting racial capitalism's ties to exploitation and hierarchy.

2. The Emergence of Prisons: Prisons arose with the U.S. state, linked to excluding racial minorities and laborers. Freedom and racial capitalism are interwoven, reflecting societal control and policing.

3. The Role of Extraction in Prisons: Prisons operate extractively, exploiting individuals for profit and destabilizing communities while prioritizing financial gain over rehabilitation.

4. Abolition Geography: Freedom emerges from communal arrangements, critiquing un-freedom while fostering consciousness and exploring contradictions in dispossession.

5. Historical Contexts and Legal Decisions: California's court mandated prison population reductions due to health issues; however, mass criminalization persists.

6. Interrelation of Mass Incarceration and Political Economy: Expansion of prisons affects land, labor, capital, and state resources, necessitating a deeper understanding of these issues.

7. Activism and Resistance Movements: Organized resistance against systemic violence has historical roots, with movements focusing on consciousness over punishment.

8. The Problem of Innocence: Innocence discourse favors certain groups, creating a hierarchy; suggesting some deserve incarceration more than others.

9. Mass Incarceration as Class War: Mass incarceration intersects with class struggles, revealing race and criminalization as tools sustaining inequalities.

10. Reimagining Abolition: The radical tradition urges a rethink of strategies for freedom beyond punishment, emphasizing community solidarity against manipulation.

11. Infrastructure of Feeling: Shared histories inform collective sentiments in movements, driving change through personal and political experiences.

Closing Thoughts

Abolition geography challenges conventional ideas of territory and freedom, advocating for societal structures prioritizing dignity over criminalization.