There is no doubt merit in exploring what abolition might look like ‘in practice’. However, to focus solely on defending abolition on pragmatic grounds is to concede that political change must be ‘realistic’ to be compelling. In addition to arguing that abolition is pragmatic, it’s also important to not lose sight of its principles—and one way to do this may involve leaning into the power of utopian speculation to shape our sense of the possible.

‘Elastic bag,’ she repeats, holding the jar of starter. This is a question, I think, even though it doesn’t really sound like one (and how could I tell without looking up). I look up. She’s standing there with a smile I can only kind of parse. (Is it proud? Is it tentative? Is it familiar?)