Every Prisoner is a Political Prisoner

by A//Political

Every person held in a prison in a country in the world is a victim of the political system of that country. Whether they are in jail for opposing foreign or domestic policy or for armed robbery, they are incarcerated as a symbolic gesture toward those of us on the outside. Prisons are a political institution. They serve the interests of the ruling elite by creating fear of the state within the individual. We are told to fear the police officer, to obey the law, to do as we’re told. Why? Because the people who wield power are afraid of us. They are afraid of our anger. They are afraid of our actions. They are afraid that we may not behave the way they predict. So they lock up people who can’t stand living in abject poverty. They eliminate people who want to make life better for themselves and/or their families. They hide people who just can’t deal with their reality anymore. And we begin to fear the state. And we begin to do as we are told.

Prisons are a lie. They are not a deterrent. People commit crimes for sociological reasons, not failures of morality. The average prisoner is in jail for a number of sociological reasons from their lower class status to a desire to rebel against the status quo. Relatively few prisoners are incarcerated because their crimes make them a real threat to society. Capitalism breeds crime. The acquisition of property creates class jealousy which leads to property crime. The status which money brings leads people to elicit economies which give them a false sense of social power through the ability to purchase goods. The alienation of working class life leads people to violence not against their oppressors, but against the easy targets who live with/near them. It is this whole social system that breeds crime.

Political prisoners are simply the most obvious victims of the state. They are a sign that the role of the government is not of benevolent protector of the common person, but as the enforcer of its own right to power. Their acts of rebellion against the state -- be they organising mass movements, speaking out against injustice, or violent revolt -- are all signs that there is discontent within this so-called democracy. The people who wield power want to maintain the facade that everyone is content with this sham political system, with this exploitative economic system, and with this corrupt social system. So, they destroy any popular dissent with their laws and their prisons. They believe that if they can silence one opponent, then they can destroy the movement. They are wrong!

It’s time to demand more than a little token release of a prisoner here and there. It’s time to demand a change in the whole of society. We want to create a world where people no longer feel the need to lash out against each other. We want to create a world where people no longer feel the desire to define their lives through commodity. We want to create a world where no one exercise power over another person. In this world, there will be no criminals in the sense that we know them today. There will be no state to punish the victims it creates. There will be no government to criminalize or legalize our behaviours. There will be only us and the power we hold over our lives!

top of page