- Ruth Gilmore says that capitalism will stop being racial capitalism, when all the white people disappear from the story. What’s the connection between “whiteness” and racism, do you think?
2. Gilmore makes the point that criminals are actually being created by the criminal justice and prison system (she says “the category of ‘criminal person’ can be perpetuated”). According to Gilmore, how does that happen, how does the prison system create new “criminals“? Do you agree with her view?
3. Describe how your understand what Prof. Gilmore – in the last part of her video – calls “liberation struggle”?
Ruth Wilson Gilmore argues that capitalism in the United States is deeply tied to race, and she suggests that it would only cease to be racial capitalism if whiteness disappeared from the story altogether. What she means is that whiteness has historically shaped who receives economic and social advantages, and who gets excluded. In this sense, hiteness operates as a form of built-in privilege that influences laws, institutions, and opportunities. The connection between whiteness and racism is that racism becomes embedded in the system when whiteness is treated as the norm or the group meant to be protected. Gilmore’s point is that racism isn’t just individual prejudice it is woven into the structure of capitalism itself.
2. How the System Creates “Criminals”
Gilmore also argues that the criminal justice and prison systems actually help create the very category of “criminal.” This happens through over-policing in poor and racialized neighborhoods, limited economic opportunities, and policies that make it easy for minor offenses to turn into lifelong labels. Once someone enters the system, the barriers they face like difficulty finding work or housing keep them trapped in cycles that increase the likelihood of re-arrest. In this way, the system reproduces the label “criminal” rather than reducing harm. I agree with her view because there is strong evidence that mass incarceration grows not just from individual behavior but from how the system targets certain communities and restricts their futures.
3. Gilmore’s Idea of a “Liberation Struggle”
When Gilmore talks about a “liberation struggle,” she is referring to the collective effort to challenge institutions that produce inequality, especially the prison industrial complex. For her liberation is not only about ending prisons but also about building a society where people have access to the resources they need such as housing, education, and stability so that punishment is no longer treated as a solution. A liberation struggle is therefore a fight for a world where safety and freedom come from support and opportunity, not policing and incarceration.
I agree with your points, especially how you explain that racism is built into the system and not just about individual behavior. Your explanation of how the prison system creates the “criminal” label really makes sense, since people are punished without getting real support. I also like how you describe liberation struggle as building support and opportunity instead of relying on punishment.
Hi Dwayne, I really like how you explained the connection between whiteness and capitalism. Your point about racism being built into institutions, not just individual prejudice, helped clarify Gilmore’s argument for me. I also agree with what you said about the prison system creating cycles instead of reducing harm. The example of barriers to jobs and housing after prison shows how the system keeps people trapped. Overall, your post clearly explains why mass incarceration is a structural issue, not just a personal one.
1. When Ruth Wilson Gilmore says that capitalism will stop being racial capitalism when white people “disappear from the story,” she does not mean that white people should disappear. She means that whiteness has been placed at the center of society and treated as normal, important, and powerful. For a long time, systems like schools, jobs, housing, and laws have been built in ways that help white people more than others. Racism is connected to whiteness because whiteness has been used to decide who deserves more opportunities and who does not. As long as whiteness stays at the center of how power and money work, racism will continue to exist.
2. Gilmore explains that the criminal justice system does not just punish crime it actually creates more criminals. This happens because when people go to prison, they are given the label of “criminal,” and that label follows them for the rest of their lives. After leaving prison, many people cannot get good jobs, housing, or education. They may also lose family support and community connections. Because they have so few choices, some people end up committing crimes again just to survive. In this way, the prison system keeps the cycle going. I agree with Gilmore because the system focuses more on punishment than on helping people improve their lives or avoid crime in the future.
3. In the last part of the video, Gilmore talks about liberation struggle. By this, she means the long fight to change unfair systems that harm people. Liberation struggle is not just about freeing people from prison; it is about making sure everyone has what they need to live a good life. This includes safe housing, good schools, health care, and jobs. Gilmore believes that when people’s basic needs are met, there will be less crime and less punishment. Liberation struggle is about working together to build a society based on care, fairness, and respect, instead of fear and punishment.
1. Ruth Gilmore explains that capitalism is inherently connected to racial hierarchy and that it has been racial from the very beginning. When she says that capitalism will stop being racial capitalism if all white people disappear from the story, she is not only talking about white people as individuals, but about the way society has used “whiteness” as a category to organize power and privilege. In other words, racism is tied to a social system in which some groups are given advantages while others are oppressed, and “whiteness” has historically been used as a tool to maintain that advantage. The connection between whiteness and racism is that whiteness becomes a way to define who has power and who does not, which supports the economic and social inequalities that capitalism relies on. Even if individual white people are removed, the structure of racial hierarchy built into the system would still continue, because the system itself depends on creating inequality between groups. So, whiteness in this context is not just skin color, it is a social and economic concept that helps maintain racism and inequality within capitalism. This is why for Gilmore you can’t end racism without ending capitalism, and you also can’t imagine that simply removing white people from the picture would end racialized hierarchy.
2. Ruth Gilmore explains that the prison system creates new criminals through its very structure and practices. According to her, this happens because the system depends on a steady flow of people being labeled as criminals. To maintain this flow, the prison system expands the definition of crimes, imposes longer sentences, and keeps people incarcerated for extended periods. Once someone is in prison, they often face additional obstacles when returning to their community, such as difficulty finding jobs, housing, or education. These barriers make it more likely that they will be re-incarcerated, which perpetuates the category of “criminal person” over time. The system also concentrates surplus labor, meaning it uses imprisonment as a way to manage social and economic problems instead of addressing root causes like poverty and lack of opportunities.
I agree with Gilmore’s view because it highlights that the prison system does not just punish existing crime, it actively produces new “criminals” and sustains cycles of incarceration, particularly among marginalized communities. Understanding this helps explain why criminal justice reform alone cannot solve the problem, deeper social and economic inequalities must also be addressed. Her perspective challenges the common belief that crime exists naturally and shows that structural forces, including the prison system itself, play a major role in creating and reproducing criminality.
3. From my understanding, Prof. Ruth Gilmore’s concept of “liberation struggle” is about more than just protesting or resisting oppression, it is a deep, ongoing process of community-based action, learning, and solidarity. I see liberation struggle as the way people actively defend their communities, resources, and rights while also working to transform the social and political systems that limit their freedom. It is place-based, grounded in the lived experiences of people in their neighborhoods, workplaces, or local environments, and it recognizes that change cannot happen without understanding the specific context of oppression.
Critically, I understand that liberation struggle also requires collective responsibility and participation. It is not something that can be achieved by a few individuals alone, it depends on building solidarity and mutual support, where people share knowledge, debate ideas, and work together toward common goals. I also think that liberation struggle is inherently challenging because it confronts powerful institutions and structural inequalities, which can provoke resistance, risk, or punishment for participants. For example, as Gilmore mentions with the Lisbon neighborhoods, people organized not just to protect their homes, but also to educate themselves about broader systems of racism, colonialism, and inequality. This shows that liberation struggle involves both action and reflection, combining practical efforts to defend what matters with intellectual efforts to understand and change the root causes of oppression.
In my view, liberation struggle is both hopeful and demanding. It is hopeful because it emphasizes people’s ability to act together and make meaningful change, but it is demanding because it requires courage, patience, and ongoing commitment to confront deep seated inequalities. Understanding it this way makes me see that fighting for justice is not just a series of isolated actions, but a lifelong, community centered process that transforms both individuals and the societies.
Hello Ekaterine, I really appreciated how clearly you explained Gilmore’s ideas especially the connection between racial capitalism and the prison system. The way you broke down how these structures keep reproducing inequality made the reading much easier to understand. I also liked your point about liberation struggle being collective and rooted in community action it shows that change isn’t just theoretical but something people actively work toward together