The Effectiveness of Prisons and the Pursuit of a Perfect Society

The Effectiveness of Prisons

Many people think that prisoners are not effective. They say that prisoners who are released often go on to commit other crimes. The question is, however, does this mean prisons are a waste of money?

Arguments Against Incarceration

On the one hand, some people believe that putting criminals together makes crime seem normal to offenders. As a result, their experience of being in prison does not help them to live a crime-free life when they are released. Furthermore, as huge amounts of money are spent on prisons, it is often said that prisons are a waste of money.

Arguments for Incarceration

On the other hand, others believe that prisons are essential. They claim that serious offenders must be punished for their actions and that society should be a safe place for others to live in. Therefore, supporters of prisons feel that the money spent on prisons is necessary.

Personal Perspective

Personally, I strongly believe that although prisons are expensive to run, our society needs them. Nevertheless, more must be done to help repeat offenders lead a life without crime.

The Pursuit of a Perfect Society

These days, we live in a world where there are different types of society. These often function very well, but there are also problems and imperfections. The question is, will we ever be able to create a perfect society?

Optimism for Progress

On the one hand, we should be optimistic about creating a better society. Looking back through history, there have been great civilizations which have left a legacy of culture, laws, and systems of government. As a result, our quality of life has improved over the years, and society has a strong base upon which it can build.

The Obstacle of Human Nature

On the other hand, despite the progress which we make over time, human beings often act as individuals who only want the best for themselves or their own social groups rather than society as a whole. For this reason, there have always been wars, there has always been poverty, and there has always been inequality. In addition, it appears that human nature does not seem to change much over time, so a lot of problems that societies have faced in the past are still problems today.

Conclusion

On balance, I therefore believe that, even though we are making progress and we may want to create a better world, it will be impossible to have a perfect society whilst humans themselves are imperfect.