I think that's an interesting theory. However, I would say our economic system, un-restrained capitalism (and the stock market, banks, and other institutions that it fosters), is the true cause of this inequality, and that you can see its effects on non drug users. The drug war is just an excuse to lock up what is considered the "excess" population. It also is a foreign policy strategy, giving us an excuse to invade South America, in the same way that anti-terrorism gives us an excuse to invade the Middle East. But, I think if the drug war hadn't come along, then they would have tried a different route, whether it was McCarthy style anti-communism, or some other draconian policy.
Note that wealthy people don't have to worry about getting locked up to the extent that poor people do, which is what allows the drug war to work effectively against targeted populations. I think the excuse for having the largest prison population the world will shift over to terrorism, and that the drug war will be defunded quite a bit over the next decade. We can already see it with the marijuana debate. Ten years ago, legalizing pot would have been unthinkable.
composer771 karma
I think that's an interesting theory. However, I would say our economic system, un-restrained capitalism (and the stock market, banks, and other institutions that it fosters), is the true cause of this inequality, and that you can see its effects on non drug users. The drug war is just an excuse to lock up what is considered the "excess" population. It also is a foreign policy strategy, giving us an excuse to invade South America, in the same way that anti-terrorism gives us an excuse to invade the Middle East. But, I think if the drug war hadn't come along, then they would have tried a different route, whether it was McCarthy style anti-communism, or some other draconian policy.
Note that wealthy people don't have to worry about getting locked up to the extent that poor people do, which is what allows the drug war to work effectively against targeted populations. I think the excuse for having the largest prison population the world will shift over to terrorism, and that the drug war will be defunded quite a bit over the next decade. We can already see it with the marijuana debate. Ten years ago, legalizing pot would have been unthinkable.
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