This is perhaps the most provocative and challenging call to action of our time.
To many, it sounds naive or dangerous. We are conditioned to believe that cages are the only answer to harm. But this quote is an invitation to engage in Radical Imagination. It asks us to accept that the current system of punitive justice is a failure—it does not heal victims, it rarely rehabilitates offenders, and it does not address the root causes of crime.
Here is the breakdown of this revolutionary shift in perspective:
Treating the Root, Not the Symptom: Prisons are, by definition, reactive. They deal with problems after they happen. A world without prisons is not a world without accountability; it is a world that invests upfront in preventing harm. It means a society where we build schools instead of cells, fund mental health centers instead of militarized police, and ensure economic dignity so that poverty doesn't drive survival crimes. As Angela Davis argues, you don't just close prisons; you build the world that makes them obsolete.
Restorative vs. Punitive Justice: Our current system asks: "What law was broken? Who did it? How do we punish them?" A post-prison world asks: "Who was harmed? What do they need to heal? Whose obligation is it to repair that harm?" This is Restorative Justice. It moves away from state-sponsored vengeance toward community-led healing. It forces the offender to face the human cost of their actions and work to make it right, rather than just "doing time" in a violent warehouse.
The Courage to Reimagine Safety: "Let's create it." Every major leap in human rights—from the abolition of slavery to women's suffrage—was once considered impossible, ridiculous, or dangerous to the status quo. We rely on prisons because we lack the creativity and political will to build real safety, which comes from strong communities, not strong bars. True safety is not the absence of crime; it is the presence of well-being.
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