Noam Chomsky on Crime

Political Activist

Slavery didn't end in 1860s; we criminalized Black life

Slavery did not end with the Civil War, despite the Constitutional Amendments that prohibited it in principle. The war was followed by a decade of partial freedom for African Americans, but by 1877, with the end of Reconstruction, slavery was reconstituted in a new and even more sadistic form, as Black life was effectively criminalized and sentencing was rendered permanent by various means, while brutalizing prison labor provided a large part of the basis not only for agricultural production, as under chattel slavery, but also for the American industrial revolution.

In the past 30 years, a new form of criminalization has been instituted, much of it in the context of the "drug wars," leading to a huge increase in incarceration, mostly targeting minorities. This provided a new supply of prison labor, much of it in violation of international labor conventions. Ever since the first slaves were brought to the colonies, life for African Americans has scarcely escaped the bonds of slavery.

Source: Hopes and Prospects, by Noam Chomsky, p. 79 , Jun 1, 2010

Capital punishment is a crime

Q: What are your views on capital punishment?

A: It’s a crime. I agree with Amnesty International on that one, and indeed with most of the world. The state should have no right to take people’s lives.

Source: Secrets, Lies, and Democracy, by Noam Chomsky, p. 34 , May 2, 1994

Harsher penalties only serve to control the poor more

A constructive approach to the problem [of increasing crime] would require dealing with its fundamental causes, but that’s off the agenda, because we must continue with a social policy that’s aimed at strengthening the welfare state for the rich. The only kind of responses the government can resort to under those conditions is pandering to the fear of crime with increasing harshness, attacking civil liberties and attempting to control the poor, essentially by force. [Clinton’s crime bill] greatly increased, by a factor of 5 or 6, federal spending for repression. There’s nothing constructive in it. There are more prisons, more police, heavier sentences, more death sentences, new crimes, three strikes and you’re out. It’s unclear how much pressure and social decline and deterioration people will accept. One tactic is just drive them into urban slums-concentration camps, in effect-and let them prey on one another. Source: Secrets, Lies, and Democracy, by Noam Chomsky, p. 32-34 , May 2, 1994

Societal inequality causes crime

Until you ask why there’s an increase in social disintegration, and why more and more resources are being directed toward the wealthy and privileged sectors and away from the general population, you can’t have a concept of why there’s rising crime or how you should deal with it. Over the past 20 or 30 years, there’s been a considerable increase in inequality. This trend accelerated during the Reagan years. The society has been moving visibly toward a kind of Third World model.

The result is an increasing crime rate, as well as other signs of social disintegration. Most of the crime is poor people attacking each other, but it spills over to more privileged sectors. People are very worried-and quite properly, because the society is becoming very dangerous. A constructive approach to the problem would require dealing with its fundamental causes, but that’s off the agenda, because we must continue with a social policy that’s aimed at strengthening the welfare state for the rich.

Source: Secrets, Lies, and Democracy, by Noam Chomsky, p. 32 , May 2, 1994

Click here for definitions & background information on Crime. Click here for a profile of Noam Chomsky. Click here for VoteMatch responses by Noam Chomsky. Click here for AmericansElect.org quiz by Noam Chomsky.
*Other pundits on Crime:*	*Noam Chomsky on other issues:*
*Opinion Leaders on the Right:* Milton Friedman (Nobel Economist) Rush Limbaugh' (Radio Talk Show Host) Ayn Rand (Author and Philosopher) Heritage Foundation (Think Tank) Libertarian Party Republican Party Ronald Reagan(President,1981-1989) *Opinion Leaders on the Left:* Noam Chomsky (Author and Philosopher) Arianna Huffington (Internet Columnist) Robert Reich (Professor and Columnist) Howard Schultz (CEO of Starbucks) Sierra Club (Environmental Organization) Green Party Democratic Party John F. Kennedy(President,1961-1963)	Abortion Budget/Economy Civil Rights Corporations Crime Drugs Education Energy/Oil Environment Families/Children Foreign Policy Free Trade Govt. Reform Gun Control Health Care Homeland Security Immigration Infrastructure/Technology Jobs Principles/Values Social Security Tax Reform War/Iraq/Mideast Welfare/Poverty

Page last updated: Apr 27, 2013