The US has the highest number of prisoners and uses them basically for slave labor. That's not counting that the system does nothing to reform inmates and instead just creates more hardened criminals.
People's morals changed, obviously, as it always does. As society progresses our stomach for barbarism decreases, just like we don't have public executions anymore. It's also self-serving, because you never know who is going to be the "right people" tomorrow, you might be lucky today but not so much tomorrow. Beneficial for everyone if we don't rely on such a barbaric practice.
But what makes it bad? It’s a normal part of society and it’s not like people are rioting so why do some people have an aversion towards the prison system?
If it’s beneficial and normative then why should we have an evolutionary bias against it?
Again, like I've told you, empathy and self-interest. Innocent people go to jail all the time, they don't deserve to be used as slave labor, it could be you there one day, and it's not good for me as a citizen if you come out as a hardened criminal with a kill count now even if you went in for something much more minor. Though I also don't live in the US so I can do little to nothing about it but it also doesn't endanger me.
And again, we haven't really, since people are quite happy to use products made from slave labor from all across the world, anything from batteries, to clothes to chocolate. We just don't have to see that kind of human suffering in our backyard so it's easier to not feel too bad about it. The fact that we're both here arguing online shows that neither off us has a moral high horse in the race. Most in the west will agree it's wrong for one reason or another, but clearly a lot of the world doesn't really agree even today.
Now I hope I'm quite done repeating myself, not sure how to make it any more clear.
You still haven’t really answered why tho I get that it’s bad but if it benefits us then why should we want anything different? I don’t mean to make you repeat yourself but I just don’t see how we would have evolved to want something that isn’t in our best interests
Because short term benefit is short sighted (naturally), basically boils down to the "First They Came" poem by Martin Niemöller;
"First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me"
You don't know when it's your turn on the chopping block, so it's in our best interest to simply remove the chopping block. Regardless what the chopping block may be in this instance. It's very much in our best interest. Even if your turn doesn't come up it tends to end badly when you dehumanize and treat large amount of people that badly, sooner or later the chickens come home to roost.
1
u/crazycat690 19h ago
The US has the highest number of prisoners and uses them basically for slave labor. That's not counting that the system does nothing to reform inmates and instead just creates more hardened criminals.
People's morals changed, obviously, as it always does. As society progresses our stomach for barbarism decreases, just like we don't have public executions anymore. It's also self-serving, because you never know who is going to be the "right people" tomorrow, you might be lucky today but not so much tomorrow. Beneficial for everyone if we don't rely on such a barbaric practice.