Derek Thompson's A World Without Work

Introduction
“...the caseload of the area’s mental-health center tripled within a decade, The city built four prisons in the mid-1990s- a rare growth industry” (Thompson). After reading Derek Thompson, a triple major in journalism, political science, and legal studies from Northwestern University’s article “A World Without Work”, I was concerned as to how the increasing number of incarcerated laborers were being treated as well as their quality of life. Subsequently, through investigating the topic in the United States I discovered that the imprisoned laborers are being exploited by large companies in order for them to make a profit (Burrows). The inhumane conditions that prison laborers face should not be placed on any person; just because prisoners have committed unpleasant acts does not mean that they should be treated like slaves.
However, through different views such as the health lense, prison laborer perspective, and economic lense their are many
different stands in prison labor and weather it should be tolerated or considered a form of slave labor. Some may believe that prison laborers are forced to work in awful conditions with little to no pay and are being exploited while others see jobs in prison as a way for the incarcerated to mentally prepare for the real world and learn about responsibility. Prison labor conditions are proven to be horrendous and need to be fixed; various prisoners argue that it has long lasting effects on both their physical and mental health and everyday workers believe that it is unethical and is actually damaging the economy. Next time that you pick up fries from McDonalds or buy coffee from Starbucks, rethink all of the prisoners who are being exploited in order for the business to be successful (Burrows).
Health Effects of Prison Labor
Everyday thousands of prisoners must go to work and deal with abuse, disease, long hours, and unsafe working conditions. According to, E. Stagg Whittin, a writer for the Academy of Political Science in New York City’s, published a scholarly book which describes the terrors of the working prisoners who were suffering from industrial diseases such as the awful poisoning that Dr. Seager discussed, correspondingly, prisoners suffered with fatigue and pain under the harsh contractors which evolved the convicts from men into beasts (Whittin). Evidently, long term health issues that may evolve from these health risks might cause serious problems that can prevent prisoners from being able to get a job after prison and provide for their families. In addition, while in prison the laborers may also suffer from sleep deprivation due to the ridiculous working hours. To demonstrate, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice states that convicts are required to wake up at 3:30am to eat breakfast and then report to their jobs by 6am (Burrows). Receiving only a few hours of sleep each night is insufficient and may cause prisoners to be drowsy and languid throughout the day. Not only do prisoners have to spend the whole day tired and sleep deprived but according to Robert T Chase, an assistant professor of history at Stony Brook University and a scholarly writer, they must deal with overcrowding, state-orchestrated sexual and physical violence, and racial tensions as well (Chase). Life in prison should not mean living life scared of what might happen at your job. Similarly, the prison system and guards should be taking more initiative in putting an end to these health risks which are widely known about.
Opponents of this argument may claim that prison does not leave a negative impact on convict laborers health. In fact, some people may argue that prisoners receive healthcare in prison which may even become better than the healthcare citizens are receiving and that there are various different approaches in action which are working to improve prison health care. Particularly, EJ Montini a columnist for The Arizona Republic and graduate from Penn State University reports how the lawsuit of Parsons v. Ryan against the state might improve healthcare in prisons and the American Civil Liberties Union discusses how the settlement contains policies which cover problems of chronic conditions, pregnancy, dental care and other health issues and prevents the Arizona Department of Corrections from putting prisoners with a mental illness in solitary confinement (Montini). Although, small actions may be taken in order to advance prison health care in sections of the United States it has been proven in a study from Vanderbilt University which was published in the American Journal of Public Health that for every year a prisoner spends in jail their life expectancy decreases by two years (Joad). Comparatively, the fact that millions of prison laborers life span’s are being shortened due to the awful conditions outweighs the idea that some states may be working on starting small changes in the system in order to accommodate for their needs.
The Effects of Prison Labor Conditions on the Convicts Quality of Life
Presently, in the United States convicts are forced to participate in the same tedious and difficult jobs every day. Just as Sisyphus went through, “...the whole effort of a body straining to raise the huge stone, to roll it and push it up a slope a hundred times over... [and then watch] the stone rush down in a few moments toward that lower world whence he will have to push it up again toward the summit” (Camus), in prison the workers must participate in repetitive tasks which in some cases result in no rewards or profit. Albert Camus’ excerpt from the Myth of Sisyphus implies that sometimes situations in life are hard and nearly impossible to get through; this lesson directly relates to the topic of prison labor. Likewise, prison laborers and Sisyphus were both faced with absurd problems which they had to fight through everyday. For the prisoners, this conflict was their strenuous jobs which caused them great difficulty and sadness. For example, Sarah Burrows, a graduate from the University of South Carolina-Columbia discusses how in some states such as Texas, prisons labor is both required and unpaid; the definition slave labor (Burrows). Clearly, prison labor matches the exact definition of slave labor and convicts working while incarcerated are having a rough time and not enjoying their mandated tasks. Conversely, there are some prisoners who have faith in the system and believe that prison labor is great for the laborers and may help bring them back on the right path. In fact, as a response to Sarah Burrows article, a former prisoner commented on how in his life, prison labor shortened his sentence and provided him with a good way to waste time (Prison Labor… Unknowingly Support It). In comparison to Sarah Burrows opinion, this implies that for some prisoners, labor is more than just a way to earn money. Many prisoners enjoy their jobs because it provides them with structure, and aids in teaching them life skills while giving them a task to perform on their long days. For instance, Robert P. Weiss, a professor with his Ph.D. in Sociology, M.A. in Corrections, and B.A. in History investigated how “...penal labour was designed to instruct the poor in skills and in the habits of industry, as well as to help support the penal system through 'state-use' production. Unlike England in the nineteenth century, where penal labour was mere torment… the policy came to stress compulsory labour as a means of correction” (Weiss) The implications of the prison labor system is that it allows for inmates to learn about work and jobs so they will have an advantage when they are released, and may be able to get a job and provide for their families. Additionally, although some prisoners may not be getting paid for their work a shortened sentence may be even more valuable in their eyes. Nevertheless, the disadvantages of health risks, horrendous working conditions, and dissatisfied prisoners outweigh the benefits of learning low level work skills that will not even make that big of a difference after the convicts are released. Additionally, a shortened sentence in prison does not compare to the years prison conditions are shaving off of the prison laborers lives. Thus, prison labor is unsafe and clearly not worth the little reliability it teaches the inmates.
Solutions and Regulations
Overtime, the United States should begin to follow in the footsteps of other locations such as Scandinavia and Suomenlinna Island. Since 1971, Suomenlinna Island uses an open prison system where the detainees can live like normal citizens behind bars. Essentially, 95 male prisoners who were sentenced for theft, drug trafficking, assault, or murder and are going to be released soon are permitted to leave the prison every day in order to work on the town’s general maintenance, work, or study (Larson). The implications of these adjustments would decrease the health, mental, and physical threats that laboring detainees are vulnerable to. Nonetheless, these prisons cannot forget that these people are convicted felons who may have committed serious crimes. Thus, United States prisons will need to develop limitations as to which prisoners are allowed to participate in these programs. Another flaw in this solution is the fact that many people may believe that prisoners do not deserve the same life quality and conditions as regular citizens or to be in the real world with these citizens after they committed such awful crimes. Conversely, restrictions can be placed on which jobs inmates may work at as well as the amount of the real world they will be able to interact with. For instance, prisoners may be able to take the night shift for general maintenance of the community but will not be permitted to interact with any people or leave the building at which they work at. Furthermore, open prisons are a valid solution that should be taken into consideration by many state prisons throughout the United States.
While prison rules and regulations should be altered in order to improve the lives and safety of detainees, prisoners can begin to take action in order to provide themselves with a right to speak out against the injustices. In comparison to Daron Larson’s ideas of open prison Rania Khalek, an American journalist, writer, and political commentator claims that “the American labor movement must demand that prison labor be allowed the right to unionize, the right to a fair and living wage, and the right to a safe and healthy work environment” (Khalek.) Accordingly, if the inmates were allowed to unionize they could produce a list of serious health and safety concerns and discuss each of the major issues with the prison head in order to fix the issues and frustrations of the detainees. Although this may not be the quickest way to change it could yield major results. In addition, compared to the complete modification of all prisons across the United States, the formation of prison labor unions may be the best and quickest solution.
Conclusions
Moreover, the treatment of detainees is a serious conflict that has been growing along with the amount of inmates, especially in the United States.
Likewise, prisoners have committed horrific illegal acts but that does not mean that the they should be treated as slaves or endure awful conditions which could leave permanent marks on their lives. The conditions faced in prison jobs can be seen through different perspectives and lenses such as those of the detainees and health. However, in any scenario or perspective there are thousands of crestfallen prisoners who are trying to remain hopeful for change. Prisoners, the government, and citizens must begin taking action against this major issue that is becoming more and more popular. Fortunately, there are various ways of fixing this problem such as an open prison system or formation of prison labor unions. Furthermore, monstrous working conditions throughout prisons in the United States are negatively affecting the prisoners and causing a discomfort in their
lives.