Inside job - profiteering from cheap labour in UK prisons

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Yeh, answer that.

If you say youd support that, then I guess I have to respect your views...

AS the risk of stating the obvious there is not currently a famine in the UK, or any similar predicament that could serve as a suitable metaphor. So i dont understand the relevance.

This debate is as much about political philosophy as it is about current politics. Therefore it dosent MATTER if theres currently a famine in the UK.

I would not support my death but would instead support killing somebody else in that situation because I am bound to be most loyal to myself and allied people/groups. However, if death was inevitable and only my death could be the cure then I would be killed. It is stupid for me not to die in that situation simply because 4 deaths are worse than 1 and if the other 3 on the island are allies/friends and I had to die then I would do it out of necessity. I don't want allies to be destroyed needlessly because they can continue some of my causes. However, if the 3 are enemies/people I didn't like then I would probably continue to live just because I did not want to promote their causes and everyone dying would not help their cause.

So, in other words I would not want to die and try to find a way to avoid being the killed one but if I felt that the other people on the island deserved to live or were like-minded to me or friends of mine or soemthing I would be willing to die if it were necessary. However, I would not be willing to die for people that I have disdain for simply because I feel no loyalty to them and might actually want them to die if necessary.

You dont find it ok to let prisoners work for the public as an option? Surely choice for prisoners conforms to your liberal views? As i said im sure most prisoners would jump at the chance as they would earn a little money and on the whole prefer doing work to staring at four walls all day.

I agree it wasnt acceptable in the past either but what i was trying to get across is that we have supposed to have moved on since those days and shouldnt accept things like that.

Yeh, just not forced to do so.

Well i did write that they "should get the option to go outside under guard and work...." in my original post.

Yeh, but my point was that you said it was unnacceptable for private companies to force people to work. As in specifically private companies. All I was saying is that its no better when the state does it.

Personally, i think it is better that the "optional" low paid work carried out by prisoners should benefit local communities rather than for the benefit of private companies and shareholders looking to profit from "forced" cheap labour.

Even if either public or private sector work for prisoners was forced, then i still think that working in local communities would be a more rational option for society at large and for the prisoners themselves, many of whom havent had the healthy routine of a good day's work in their lives.

There should always be the option of going into education while in prison to learn how to further themselves intelectually and so hopefully having the chance of getting meaningful employment upon release. Other schemes like first aid lessons, cooking lessons and for the unwashed/"working" class/underclass who make up the majority of the prison population, elocution lessons and house training/manners training courses should also be of benefit.

We should not lose sight, however, of the reason they are there in the first place, that these people have commited crimes and are put in prison at Her Majesty's pleasure, not for their own pleasure, so no Playstations, Sky televisions or trips to Disneyland should be on the cards. Not while there are law-abiding people in the country who cant afford to keep the heating going and eat healthly, never mind have these sort of luxurys.