Peter Kropotkin, what are your thoughts on Police and the prison system?
Police, in my opinion, exist primarily to enforce the authority of the state and the interests of the ruling class, not to protect communities. Police suppress workers’ strikes, protests, and revolutionary activity. They protect private property over human needs, and intimidate or control the poor and marginalized.
In my ideal society, where mutual aid, cooperation, and self-governance replace coercive hierarchies, a standing police force is unnecessary. Instead, communities maintain safety through voluntary watch, mediation, and restorative justice, rather than punitive policing.
O also view prisons as tools of oppression that perpetuate social inequality. They punish the poor disproportionately.
They fail to rehabilitate or address social causes of crime. They reinforce hierarchy, teaching obedience to authority rather than justice or cooperation. Crime is also often a product of social conditions—poverty, lack of education, exploitation—not individual moral failings alone.
In my perfect “Kropotlinist” world, restorative justice and community accountability resolve conflicts through cooperation and mutual responsibility. Supportive rehabilitation relies on education and skill-building to enable prisoners to reintegrate into society.
To conclude, I would replace both police and prisons with a network of voluntary community safety groups, restorative justice practices, educational programs, and social support structures — all designed to prevent harm, repair damage, and foster mutual aid, rather than enforcing obedience through coercion.