Essay #120: David Gordon Scott & Emma Bell, ‘Envisioning Abolition - Back to Black?’

This essay introduces Envisioning Abolition, arguing that modern penal abolitionism has deep roots in nineteenth and early twentieth-century anarchist and libertarian socialist thought that challenged prisons, punishment, and state coercion. It highlights how the traditions of red and black converge around a shared commitment to equality, freedom, and the abolition of punitive justice systems. David Gordon Scott,  Chair of the Weavers Uprising Bicentennial Committee and The Open University. His most recent books include Abolitionist Voices (Bristol University Press, paperback March 2026) Emma Bell, Professor of Contemporary British Politics, Université Savoie Mont Blanc, France. She has also recently published Policy Press | Commons, Citizenship and Power - Reclaiming the Margins, Edited by Filippo Barbera and Emma Bell  Anarchist Essays is brought to you by Loughborough University's Anarchism Research Group and the journal Anarchist Studies. Follow us on Bluesky @anarchismresgroup.bsky.social Our music comes from Them'uns (featuring Yous'uns). Artwork by Sam G.