Re: [Marxism] Lockdown, USA

[Bhaskar Sunkara <bhaskar.sunkara@xxxxxxxxx>]

I'm actually working on a research paper on the political economy of the
prison system in New York State.  Instead of rehashing arguments that a
prison-industrial complex has formed, I'm focusing on the fact that
districts Upstate are overrepresented due to population from Downstate
arrested under the Rockefeller Drug Laws--- modern day "rotten boroughs" if
you will that receive plenty of state and federal money for a population
counted in the census despite the fact that they are locked up in prisons
and don't have political representation and don't benefit from these funds.

New York State is not *even discussing* repealing the drug laws.  They are
reforming them.  A step in the right direction, but it doesn't do nearly
enough to address the underlying problems at hand.  Russell Simmons has done
some good work on this effort, and he is a genuine progressive, but some of
his other lobbying like his vocal support for the diamond industry are very
problematic to say the least.

~ BKS
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