Vested Interests and the Perpetuation of American Aristocracy: Capitalism, the Courts, and Criminal Justice

Capitalism and It's Consequences

While touted as a democracy, America is functionally an aristocracy. To preserve this socioeconomic hierarchy, America employs capitalism and the criminal justice system as tools to combat an equitable allocation of resources and the end of segregation. The American criminal justice system, generally made up of the law enforcement officials, prosecutors and the courts, and the prison system, is as effective at controlling minority and poor populations, as the “free-market” is at perpetuating socioeconomic hierarchy within the country. With only 5% of the world’s population, and 25% of the world’s prisoners, the United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world, along with the highest costs of incarceration, at $63.4 billion annually (Bureau of Justice Statistics). When the costs of courts and various police forces are added, the total adds up to $147 billion a year. This country also has one of the largest “wealth gaps”, or unequal distribution of assets among residents, as compared to other developed countries. In America, the richest 1% of the population take home almost a quarter of the nation’s income, a drastic change from the 9% figure that they took home in 1996, http://youtu.be/QPKKQnijnsM.

These figures demonstrate the irony in America’s claim as the home of the “free”. This freedom is merely a token nomenclature to justify the unrestricted pursuit of self-interest. Nowhere is this principle more evident than in the free market system. It is no coincidence therefore, that the incarceration figures mirrors this nation’s wealth distribution, as the top 20% of the nation owns over 80% of the wealth, while the bottom 20%, make up close to three quarters of prison population, with an overwhelming majority of inmates being black or Latino. Capitalism is socioeconomic segregation’s greatest ally, as it is a subtle way of depriving groups the access to resources necessary to realize the fruits of “freedom”. As stated in Gatson County v. United States, America has “systematically deprived its black citizens of the (educational) opportunities it granted to its white citizens . . . therefore it should be no surprise that ‘Impartial’ administration of criminal laws, penalties, and the privilege of freedom, when employed in real time serve only to perpetuate inequality.”

In the aristocracy that is America, one must look no further than the free market to find the cause of widespread minority jailing. Similar to the taxes citizens are willing to pay for highways, the postal service, the standing military, and other public services, those with resources are willing to pay the costs of incarceration as a means of controlling poor and minority populations. As opposed to a system rooted in rehabilitation, rooted in the principle that “all men are created equal”, where offenders pay their debts to society before being discharged back into society, the American criminal justice system uses retribution and incapacitation, as an ends to controlling the poor through suffering and immobilization, glossed over in the rhetoric “deterrence” and “public safety”. While $147 billion a year sounds substantial, the benefits provided to those fortunate enough to stay out of the system are significant. The criminal justice system effectively buys goods and services necessary to operate prisons in the private market, provides employment to corrections officers, law enforcement, prison industries workers, and large profits to private construction and other service providers. These figures demonstrate that the old adage “crime pays” is especially pertinent for those profiting off of the incapacitation of the “dangerous” members of society. With these types of vested interests working to maintain mass incarceration, turning to the free market will only exacerbate the damaging effects that the criminal justice has on poor and minority communities.

Courts as Preservers of Hierarchy

For their purposes, the criminal justice system is incredibly efficient; prosecutors and police officers target which citizens are deserving of punishment, while judges work to secure the convictions. All of these actions are then sanctioned and reaffirmed by decisions of the courts, with appellate courts acting as the ultimate preserver of hierarchy and the status quo. The days of Congress using, and the courts recognizing, the commerce clause, legislation, or other federal means to dismantle social ails such as discrimination, see Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States, are long gone. At current, courts are more likely to strike down laws aimed at increasing equality as unconstitutional rather than support their efforts.

Over time the court has gradually rescinded on it’s effort to end segregation and the incidents of slavery following Brown v. Board. Given the gross disparity in wealth in this country along racial lines however, this fact is damming for poor and minority populations. Per Justice Marshall’s dissent in Bakke, “ the racism of our society has been so pervasive that none (Negroes), regardless of wealth or position, has managed to escape its impact”. While clearly invidious decisions are outlawed, courts justify disparate treatment of the poor on the basis of segregation that is “de facto” as opposed to “de jure”. This principle has been sanctioned by the nation’s highest court when ruling on cases affecting the distribution of resources, notwithstanding that the effects of “de facto” segregation can be more damaging than “de jure” segregation, because it is unspoken and can more easily go unchecked. In Washington v. Davis (1976), the Court ruled that proof of disproportionate impact was not enough, standing alone, to ground a finding that a law amounts to unconstitutional discrimination. Later in Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1 (2007) the Court held that school plans that use race alone as qualifying criterion for school assignments is unconstitutional, even where efforts are aimed at combating “de facto” segregation or remnants of previous inequity. The court and the free market, once symbols of equality now act as a devastating force against it. The criminal justice system and capitalism have effectively commodified freedom, turning what was once believed to be inalienable into a luxury to be purchased by the privileged.

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