№ 01 — Lead · International

The Plantation Never Disappeared — It Just Changed Its Name

5 May 20265 min readInternationalB2· Upper intermediate

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Comprehension Quiz

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According to the post, how does the size of the US prison population compare to other countries?

The author argues that the prison system "functions as a labor system." Which detail from the post most directly supports this claim?

What is the significance of the phrase "Except as punishment for crime" as discussed in the post?

The post describes the prison population as "disproportionately Black, disproportionately poor, disproportionately from the zip codes with the worst schools." What is the author implying with this pattern?

Which of the following best summarises the central argument of the post?

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The post argues that the plantation "received a different name and a legal foundation." In your view, does changing the name of a system — from "slavery" to "criminal justice" — change its fundamental nature? What makes a system exploitative, regardless of what it is called? What does it say about a society when it allows this kind of renaming to continue for generations without serious public debate?

The post notes that the prison population is disproportionately Black and poor, and disproportionately from zip codes with failed schools and abandoned infrastructure. If the conditions that lead to incarceration — poverty, lack of education, unemployment — are themselves products of historical injustice, can a society truly claim its justice system is fair? What would genuine justice require?

Major brands such as McDonald's, Walmart, and Victoria's Secret profit from prison labour paid as little as 13 cents an hour. As a consumer, what responsibility — if any — do you believe individuals have when they buy products made in this way? And what responsibility do corporations have? Is it enough to say "it is legal"?

The United States publicly condemns authoritarian states for human rights violations while maintaining the world's largest prison population, inside which forced labour is legal. What does this contradiction reveal about how powerful countries define and apply the concept of "human rights"? Who gets to decide what counts as a human rights violation — and who benefits from those definitions?

Current Affairs English

The Plantation Never Disappeared — It Just Changed Its Name

Word Matching

Match each word from the post to its definition in context.

Words

Definitions

Match each word from the post to its closest synonym in context.

Words

Definitions

Comprehension Quiz

Comprehension Quiz

According to the post, how does the size of the US prison population compare to other countries?

The author argues that the prison system "functions as a labor system." Which detail from the post most directly supports this claim?

What is the significance of the phrase "Except as punishment for crime" as discussed in the post?

The post describes the prison population as "disproportionately Black, disproportionately poor, disproportionately from the zip codes with the worst schools." What is the author implying with this pattern?

Which of the following best summarises the central argument of the post?

Real-time Discussion

Discussion Questions

Word Matching

Match each word from the post to its definition in context.

Words

Definitions

Match each word from the post to its closest synonym in context.

Words

Definitions

Comprehension Quiz

Comprehension Quiz

According to the post, how does the size of the US prison population compare to other countries?

The author argues that the prison system "functions as a labor system." Which detail from the post most directly supports this claim?

What is the significance of the phrase "Except as punishment for crime" as discussed in the post?

The post describes the prison population as "disproportionately Black, disproportionately poor, disproportionately from the zip codes with the worst schools." What is the author implying with this pattern?

Which of the following best summarises the central argument of the post?

Real-time Discussion

Discussion Questions

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