Quote:
Originally Posted by The Lone Ranger
I heard a fascinating claim recently -- namely, that the U.S. has, in effect, reinstituted slavery.
As is well-publicized, the United States has by far the world's largest prison population, and we incarcerate a greater percentage of our citizens than does any other country. And the so-called " Prison-Industrial Complex" is booming.
Anyway, the speaker claimed that 100% of the helmets, ammunition belts, bullet-proof vests, ID tags, and other items used by the U.S. military are produced by prison labor. That's shocking, if true. He went on to point out that lots of other items are produced through prison labor, and argued that this is one of the main reasons that we can compete with countries like China: because so many of our goods are produced by people who receive little or no pay, and are threatened with solitary confinement if they refuse to work.
The speaker claimed that while slavery may be outlawed in the U.S., prison labor amounts to slavery in practice. And it's a booming industry.
Ironically, and rather hypocritically, he claimed, the U.S. doesn't allow the import of goods produced through prison labor or other "inhumane" practices.
How much truth is there to this? |
I would say close to 100%. I learned this from youtube-recorded lectures of one Prof. Chomsky, who is a genius by the way. It's a system of violence, intimidation, incentives, reward and punishment, made-up charges, labor costs close to zero, old excuses replaced by new ones, legal definitions and interpretations changed on the fly, whatever. Just my 2 Euros.