this post was submitted on 20 Aug 2023
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GenZedong
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Seriously tho what's the difference between a Soviet gulag and a Western prison? Any society that still has crime requires correctional facilities, the USSR is no different. Why do libs insist on Soviet ones being called gulags? If you want to criticize their prison system just call it that. I know it's a Russian word but we're speaking English here which already has a word for prisons, and to me the Soviet system really does not seem different or unique enough to warrant its own word as a proper noun. (I-it's not just to make the Soviet system seem more evil by distancing it from their own Western prison systems right? I-it's not that right?)
From my understanding, the application of the word "gulag" to a prison is to indicate there is strenuous forced labor in harsh conditions in a distant location free from public scrutiny. The implication is that people die from being overworked or due to exposure and the government is able to cover up these deaths because of the remoteness of these facilities. Likely, this implication is meant to harken back to the labor camps of Nazi Germany.
This is irrespective of whether or not Soviet labor camps should be characterized this way or whether US prisons are inherently more humane. If anything, I highly advocate for referring to US prisons by a more pejorative name to indicate their cruel nature. I would use the term "gulag", but I think what makes US prisons cruel is different from a labor camp and deserves a different name.
Private prisons is a pretty good term IMO. Private, as in the purpose of them is not to rehabilitate, but to generate profit for the bourgeoisie under the guise of rehabilitation. The inmates are private property.