The New S-Word: How Prison Labor Has Developed into Legalized Slavery

Abstract

This essay examines the effects of capitalism on prison labor and the key role of racism in its development. This analysis uses Austin Reed’s The Life and the Adventures of a Haunted Convict, along with historical and contemporary studies, to develop this relationship between penal servitude and capitalism. The essay follows a chronological flow of evidence from the formation of prison labor to its potential future based on political and consumer trends. The study concludes that reformation of the penal and justice systems is necessary to dismantle the current exploitation of prison labor.