Communism is the Answer

In his time in prison, and especially his years in solitary confinement, Abbott has used book reading as a way to challenge his mind and understand the world in absence of being out in the world to directly experience it. In his wide reading of many philosophers and philosophical systems, he has become most closely attached to Communism, especially the works of Karl Marx. He claims Communists are the ones who fight for prisoners' rights, hiring them attorneys and organizing letter—writing campaigns. Communists are the only ones who will report the true state of the American prison system.

Abbott is also attracted to Communism because he believes it most accurately describes human nature and history. Like Marx, he sees the progress of history as a series of class struggles. Classism creates inequality, which begets anger and eventually violence. Without class distinctions there would...