We grow up being taught that free markets foster democracy. This is simplified in schools and the mass media to imply that capitalism breeds freedom, as the history of democracy goes largely unexamined.
Ancient Athens and Rome had democracy—for a tiny minority of land and slave-owning males. When the United States was established, the right to vote was similarly limited to white male landowners, many of them slave-masters. Of course, the millions of people kidnapped and brought over from Africa as slaves had no democratic rights at all.
We are told that the participatory nature of the free-market has expanded democratic rights to all American citizens. However, while militant mass struggles have succeeded in achieving some measure of equality and expanded democratic rights in general, a look at the U.S. prison system reveals that under capitalism, rights to personal property and freedom of movement and expression can be stripped at any time from poor and working people.
More than 60 percent of the people held in the jails of the United States—the country with the highest number of prisoners in the world—have not been tried, let alone convicted of any crime. (sfweekly.com) Thus, they are not technically criminals in any sense. Yet they are locked away, taken away from their jobs, their families and their lives for one reason. They cannot afford to pay their bail while they await trials for crimes that in many cases they did not commit.
When someone is imprisoned in a county jail—often for no other reason than being in the wrong place at the wrong time or for “fitting the description of a suspect” (a thinly veiled term for the police practice of racial profiling)—they are taken to stand before a judge who determines whether the person will be released before her or his trial, must set bail, or in cases of extreme charges, is denied bail.
Someone who has never been arrested before is much more likely to be released than someone who has previously been arrested. Poor people and members of oppressed communities are targeted by police and are thus much more likely to have been arrested at some time in their lives, and thus are more likely to be ordered to pay bail.
Most judges refer to county manuals that base bail on the nature of the charges. Many people who get arrested face multiple charges and must pay the specified bail amount for each charge. The resulting bail will often soar into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. If one does not have the assets to pay the bail outright, one can only escape the prison walls during the months or years leading up to a trial by paying a bail bondsman 10 percent (nonrefundable) of the total bail amount.
The truly wealthy, in the rare instances when they are arrested and ordered to pay bail, can afford to pay and move on with their lives until their trial. Someone making a six-figure income might be able to pay a five-figure bail bond. But there is no way that someone who is unemployed or earning minimum wage could hope to do so. They are trapped behind bars until their day in court, losing all freedom.
Even if ultimately found innocent, poor people who are arrested lose their freedom to go to work and thus lose their jobs. They fail to pay rent, so they are evicted and lose their personal possessions. Single parents may well lose custody of their children. Yet, the system tells them to be happy they had the chance to prove their innocence.
Under these circumstances, many held in jail end up accepting plea bargains resulting in convictions for lesser crimes, of which they are also often innocent.
Criminal justice in Cuba
In Cuba, headed by a workers’ government and party leading the construction of socialism under difficult circumstances, the situation is very different. When someone is arrested for a crime, the authorities can hold the person for no more than eight days before releasing her or him. The suspect’s job is secure during the course of the interrogation. Once released, suspects can move on with their lives as before.
A suspect in Cuba is considered innocent until proven guilty and is assigned a defense attorney, who is allowed to review all evidence against the person. All trials are public and are heard before three judges—one professional judge with a law degree and two judges elected by neighborhood or district.
After completion of the trial, the three judges have 10 days to make a decision and must give written explanations to the accused. If a person is found guilty and ordered to jail, their job and personal property remain secure. If there is need of child care while one parent is in jail, it is provided. Once convicted felons have paid their debt to society, they are truly free and reintegrated into the community.
Under socialism a job and a home, as well as free education and health care, are rights enjoyed by all, including those with a criminal record. The Cubans, thanks to their revolution, have gone a long way towards—in the words of the “Communist Manifesto”—“winning the battle of democracy.”
