The world is built on slavery. It's an industry that has been going on for thousands of years. As long as there are people on this planet, there will be power structures that bind them and some will end up top and some will end up at the bottom. People are bought and sold all the time. It happens now as it did way back when. Instead of public auctions, we have temp agencies and craigslist now. Nothing's really changed, just the technology has caught up with it.
Though I feel that slavery as an industry has gotten a pretty bad rep lately, with people believing that it was one of the casus belli for the US Civil war and tying it to racism and what not, and since people like to hand out moral report cards, whitewash history, revise and sometimes re-write them, I thought it was important to shed some light on the other side of the argument.
I maintain that the life of an agricultural slave was probably much better than an industrial wage slave. Think of it in this way. When you're an agricultural slave, you're livestock. In order for farmers to maximize their earning potential, they have to keep their livestock in peak shape. You have to take care of them, feed them, clothe them, provide basic shelter and etc. You know how much attention people lavish on their pets. Imagine having a pet that talks back! Plus, they do stuff around the house, saves you labor. All for the initial investment of buying a slave, plus food. Plus, you can breed them, sell them for additional profits.
Sure, there are stories of bad slave owners who mistreat their slaves, but I'd be willing to bet that those are few and far between. About as much as there are farmers and pet owners who mistreat their animals. A small percentage of psychopaths, yes. But their stories are more titilating, aren't they? Much more sensational than someone who actually treats their slaves/pets with dignity and kindness.
An industrial wage slave has no guarantees when it comes to food, shelter or clothing. The condition of these people mattered much less to the factory owners than the value the farmers put on their slaves. You don't have to provide them with shelter, clothing, none of that. All you need to do is pay him his wage, and what he chooses to do with his money (drink, gamble, whores, whatever) is not your concern. If a guy dies on the factory floor, there's a line of guys around the block that's willing to take his place, work longer hours for less money. Read "The Jungle" by Upton Sinclair and you'll understand what I mean. (Note: I disagree with the conclusion Sinclair draws in the book. It's a great piece of commie agitprop, in my opinion. However, the description of the working conditions in the slaughterhouses by the railyard in Chicago was pretty accurate).
If you're a domestic slave, you lived in the same house as the owner. They were integrated into society. Segregation was a strictly northern idea. Believe that. Plus, slavery wasn't really about race. The Scots and the Irish when they first came to this country were treated no better. Like I argued earlier, the life of industrial wage slavery in a lot of ways was just as bad, if not worse.
Some might argue that slave labor, or forced labor kills productivity and work quality, but to that, I counter that slave labor built lasting monuments like the Pyramids, aqueducts and the Great Wall. Unionized labor builds roads where potholes appear within a year so that they can spend the same amount of money as the year before to fill them up.
Slavery still exists today. From illegal work visas to mail order brides, even the employees at some service sector jobs, counting other people's money constitute as slavery in one way or another. Instead of being owned by individuals, many of us are owned by the legal representation of a person, a corporation. Many more slaves are being imported from across the border for cheap labor that is readily available, therefore devaluing the cost of labor in general. (simple supply and demand). Devaluing labor eliminates the need for innovation and society becomes stagnant.
We don't call it slavery anymore. We call it economics now. Shuffling and trading paper with imaginary value is what's considered important and I really feel that we've lost our way. Democracy replaces the aristocracy with the merchant class and the elimination of religion and aristocracy in a society turns that very same society banal and profane. They worship material goods, greed and ownership becomes the highest attainable goal for the society.
I think that's enough rating for one day.
Next week: In defense of Child labor maybe? Why not? It's one of the things this great world of ours is built upon. So sayeth my shoes, my shirt.
Hope you have a nice day. :)
Grape.
GrapeKoolaid posted on Jun 02, 2009
| views: 393
Comments
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beyondtheveil said on Jun 02, 2009....
Interesting attitude you have there. I was going to write a post about child labor a few months ago, but it was so depressing. I also use the word 'imprisoned' a lot like you have used slavery.
But you see, there was a big difference between slavery and the industrial worker. The industrial worker thought he had rights, the slave knew he didn't. And the industrial worker thought he lived in a free country, just like we think we have rights and live in a free country. A university once taught a class called 'the myth of freedom in America'. They should write a book about it.
Slave owners are smart this way, they make you think you possess something priceless and all the while they snicker in the good old boys club with their Cuban cigars and golf clubs.
Its 'the way', the only one we've ever known.
And he had it right in 'Flags of Our Fathers' by saying 'kids fight wars'.
Every base is covered.
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pickersplock said on Jun 02, 2009....
Feeling a bit cynical today aren't we?Ah, but here in the good old USA we have the freedom to rise or fall. Ambition is what sets a free mind apart from the slave mentality.You're only a slave if you choose to be Grape................. -
beyondtheveil said on Jun 02, 2009....
pickers- I like your optimism. -
woman said on Jun 02, 2009....
Not quite sure what to make of this Grape. Slavery was what it was. And that was horrible. Even the nicest of slave owners, OWNED a person. To be fully human is to have the right to make decisions about our own life. Right or wrong. Slavery took that away from grown men and women. Of course many slave owners fed their slaves just enough to survive, felt free to whip, to rape, to torture. They were property after all.
I understand that industry has issues. Serious ones in some instances. Overseas and in the US. But comparing it to slavery is trivializing an unthinkable time.
Like I said, this seems so unlike you Grape, that I looked more than once to see if I misread your name.
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GrapeKoolaid said on Jun 02, 2009....
beyond: The path to becoming a great nation is often paved with atrocities. Especially in this country, there is a history and a culture of violence. In order for this country to exist as it does now, a whole continent of people had to go away. Early US history is mired in bloodshed. It's like the forefathers fought so that the future generation wouldn't have to. While that's a lofty goal in itself, look at what we're left with. Managerial kleptocracy and surplus humanity.
Every base is covered. You're absolutely right.
pickles: Perhaps just a little bit. Ambition for what though? More material gain? More tangible goods to fill the void people feel in their lives? More distractions? I don't even know what people want. I don't think many of them do either. It's hard for people to win when the game is so rigged.
Sometimes, I feel like I'm trying to jump out of Buddha's palm (the point being that you can't).
lady: On the contrary, I can make the argument that we are all owned one way or another, by someone. With so many Americans just a couple of paychecks away from total financial collapse, we are so owned. By the time the average American gets out of college, he/she is so deep in debt that they have no choice but to join the workforce, participate in the crooked system. Credit based economy keeps more people in debt, owning them by allowing them to spend money that they don't have.
Yes. I'm sure that there were really bad slave owners in the past that treated their slaves horribly. I'm willing to bet that more were treated better than your average steel mill worker in Indiana, with kindness and decency. A farmer that mistreats his livestock is not a good farmer at all, wouldn't you say? Look at the love and baby talk people lavish on their dogs. Wouldn't you be much nicer to a pet that does chores?
I'm not saying that slavery was great or anything. What I am saying is that it is what it is, and it's still around, that it hasn't gone anywhere. It just exists under a different name, or it's outsourced, or whatever.
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woman said on Jun 02, 2009....
Sorry Grape. Not buying it. This is apples and oranges and though they both stink, they are not even close to being the same. I could write a book here but I will leave it at that. -
GrapeKoolaid said on Jun 02, 2009....
lady: I'm not asking you to buy it. It is what it is. Slavery is something that's never going to go away. Human trafficking for the sex trade is something that still happens all the time. Russians and Israelis are notorious flesh peddlers, slave dealers. Many of these girls end up working the streets in the US, too. You can pretend like they don't exist, or they're not here, but they do and you can't make them go away.
You can ignore them, try no to look at them, but they're there. Mowing your lawn, cleaning your offices at night, cooking your food, fluffing your pillow in your hotel room...
I apologize if this upsets your sensibilities. You can take it as tongue in cheek, if you like. It is, in some ways.
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woman said on Jun 02, 2009....
I know there is slavery still going on Grape. The slavery that happened in the United States before the Civil War was a shameful part of our past. The slavery that goes on now, is a new stain on humanity. I simply don't understand your "Defense" of any form of slavery. -
beyondtheveil said on Jun 02, 2009....
woman- I don't see grape defending slavery at all. I see him making comparisons, showing that slavery can take on different forms under different names and that is still with us and always has been. I see the post as one that must be felt behind the scenes, satirical in certain lines, telling truth in words that at times can be taken literally, at other times not. I see it as a realization of buried and/or denied truth. -
pickersplock said on Jun 02, 2009....
Still seeing the glass half full aren't we?See life isn't all that hard, Grape.Do unto others......see?The ambition to do unto others, not to the detriment of ourselves, but rather as a means to our own happiness.When you start thinking "Why bother, we're all going to just die anyway", you've missed the point and lost the battle.The game isn't rigged at all! Your destiny is in your own hands, you are the one keeping yourself down......when the sky's the limit after all............... -
GrapeKoolaid said on Jun 02, 2009....
lady: You can't make judgments on the past based on the moral standards we have today. Civil war wasn't about the slaves at all. It was about the consolidation of the federal government, the preservation of the union. State's rights, rights of the individual, spirit of independence all were delivered a mortal blow in that war. We don't have slaves anymore only by accident. If it wasn't for the civil war, emancipation would have taken another path, but the US would have gotten there. Perhaps even by public sentiment rather than a federal mandate.
Slavery didn't really go away, though. Mass importation of cheap service labor, exportation of labor jobs that are essential to the national economy are some of the factors in squeezing out the middle class only to create more slaves. Still more of the same. Like I mentioned above, in some cases, treated considerably worse.
beyond: I am very grateful to receive such a poetic endorsement from you. :)
On an unrelated note: I can see (from the perspective of an investor) how shutting down plants and laying off workers can be a good thing for the company (thereby turning a profit quicker to pay back the investors sooner), but how is cutting jobs and shutting down plants good for the economy overall? So we're pouring money into the auto companies to shut down plants, close dealerships and lay off people, and we're pouring money into the banks to help these people that's all been laid off?
I just don't get it.
pickles: I know what you mean pickles. You are correct when you say that giving up is not an option. It never is.
It's just that sometimes, when you're lost in the rat race, you lose sight of the block of cheese at the center of the maze. But that's precisely it. It's just a block of cheese. Bleu, Rocquefort, Bree, Feta, Gouda, Cheddar, Swiss, Parmesan, Ricotta, Jack, Provolone, Cheez Whiz, it doesn't matter. It's all cheese. (Except for Cheez Whiz, which is highly suspect of being coloured and flavoured caulk) If I were a rat, I'd prefer to live the way a rat should, digging through the filth of the city spreading the plague and having hundreds of children instead of running a silly maze. No matter how fancy the cheese is.
Unless the cheese is Mozzarella. I'll run the **** out of the maze for some of that. :)
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GrapeKoolaid said on Jun 02, 2009....
And Saganaki. I'll definitely run a few mazes to get me some of that.
Now you've got me thinking about cheese... [drools]
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Knowledge1 said on Jun 03, 2009....
Grape...Freedom, Justice and Equality are basic fundamentals of life. A slave does not have any, physically or mentally, and it is the job of the slave master to make sure that the slave has no knowledge of the above 3. Are you defending that? Please help me understand because I am not clear on your defense of slavery, where in your post are you defending slavery. -
pickersplock said on Jun 03, 2009....
The secret to a happy life..........
Simple as that!
P.S. - I often sing this to Little P on school mornings.
His reply, "I don't feel beautiful. I feel like an idiot."
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GrapeKoolaid said on Jun 05, 2009....
Knowledge: I'm sorry. I think you've been misinformed. It turns out Freedom is illusory, there is no justice, only forgiveness, and we are not all equal. Perhaps you're thinking of our basic needs, being food, clothing and shelter. The all-seeing eye of the government becomes something desirable if it's offered as an item of luxury (OMG the new Nokia comes with a 6.1 megapixel camera and a built in GPS!). The moral compass shifts too quickly to be any justice in this world. Lastly, people are not equal. Not politically, not physically, not mentally. We are not equally capable nor will we receive equal rewards in life. If you can't handle this, you are insane with pretense.
We are all kept, owned in one way or another. People don't like calling it slavery, they outsource it so that they don't have to see it anymore, but it's there. What I'm saying is that modern society brought on far worse things than agricultural or domestic slavery. It's dehumanizing in a different way, but not really.
pickles: Little P's wise beyond his years. Confucius said, "Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance".
I guess miine's more a smirk than a smile. :D
Is it just me or do you think Carole King resembles Glen Close a little bit?
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Knowledge1 said on Jun 05, 2009....
Yes I agree, but that doesn't make my comment a lie. We all are mentally and physically slaves in this world's system. But....because that is true does not make it right or cause someone to defend slavery. We all deserve freedom, justice and equality. This is why I'm confused, because this includes you, being a slave. How can you defend this, being robbed of your God given rights, intentionally? I'm not happy with this world, espacially this aspect of it, are you? -
ABOVE_TOP_SECRET said on Jun 05, 2009....
We found this most interesting. Thankyou.
Visit our posts as well!
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GrapeKoolaid said on Jun 05, 2009....
Knowledge: No it doesn't. Not a lie, just misinformed. Freedom, justice, equality are all man made concepts and social values that add to the corruption of structure of constitutional government into democracy. Aristotle had it right 2500 years ago. Things haven't changed since. I guess the accusation I'm making is that if you're in support of the current system, then you are in support of slavery.
It's a human institution, really. It's our legacy. We enslave others. That's how we do.
It's not all bad though, see? Slave labor builds lasting monuments to humanity. Trans-Continental railway, the Great Wall, the Pyramids... The only thing that even comes close to the productive power of the slave labor force is probably religious fervor, which is enslavement of another kind. Of the spirit, if you will. :)
Isn't that interesting? The productive power of the slave class willed by the man-god, versus the productive power of the religious zealots willed by a man, in the name of god.
Top Secret: (Shh!!! They'll hear you!!!)
Thank you for your interest. We will visit your posts also. :)
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gingersoul said on Jun 06, 2009....
Grapey.....we found you interesting too!....we will visit your post again!...lol...
Yeah, let's defend slavery and child labor, and young girls trafficking, and human organs black market, and sex traffic.
Let's all be against abortion, women rights, gay marriage but defend prostitution, and animal fights, and whatever is bad and morally wrong.......would ya?.......;-p -
Misty_Eyed said on Jun 08, 2009....
touche gingersoul : ) -
Knowledge1 said on Jun 08, 2009....
I understand what a man or a people can accomplish by having slaves (America) and I also understand that there is a difference in workers and slaves. I understand your thought process as well. Please explain to me how a person seeking freedom, if it that person is a slave, or a person who has been wrongly incarcerated, seeking justice or a human being, who is being treated less than a animal, seeking equality, corrupting the structure of constitutional government. In my eyes, any government that is doing this is already corrupt.And...How is my saying that every human being deserves freedom, justice and equlity cause me to be misinformed? -
ABOVE_TOP_SECRET said on Jun 08, 2009....
This world was built by slaves -
GrapeKoolaid said on Jun 13, 2009....
Amore: I'll get to defending those other pillars of humanity in a little bit. :P
I take no joy in being a cynic, you know... It's rather depressing to be proven right in your worse assumptions of people. Disappointing, too.
Though I must admit, a little misanthropy is fun once in a while. :)
Misty: Nice to see you drop in. :)
Knowledge: To what extent is anyone free? It's just a transference of ownership of the individual. See what I'm sayin'? There are times when it's better to be owned by an individual than some faceless monstrosity known as the government. It's kind of the same reason why I prefer independent mom & pop establishments over big box operation most days of the week. There are exceptions, of course. Some business owners treat their place of business like crap, just like some slave owners. There is a consistency of quality in big box operations, though the quality is seldom what you expect it to be.
Freedom, justice, equality are all human value constructs and are not necessary for the survival of an individual, or species as a whole. It's not something that everyone deserves, it's not something that people need. Food, water, shelter and clothing people need. Apparently, they need oppression and firm guidance as well, otherwise you wouldn't have the police now, would you?
In fact, I would even fo as far as to argue that most of the time, people deserve the government that they are under.
Above: Yes. Fueled by hatred and subjugation of the other, advaced by conflict, war and bloodshed.
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hotaka said on Jun 13, 2009....
In a way, it's all how you look at it. From my own experience, I saw my employer as hiring me for my potential to provide a labour service for his company. When I provided that service to his satisfaction he trusted me with more responsibility which in tunr prompted me to request a raise once I had proven I could handle the extra tasks. I made myself a reliable and consciencious (spelling?) worker and received a second raise when I asked. I always recognized that if I treated my employer's company with respect and worked to help it run successfully my efforts would be lauded and I would receive benefits, either as a wage increase or the granting of special requests when feasible.
My friend, however, works for the government. He's civil servant. Hard work has no meaning. Going all the way, pulling for the team has no meaning. Just show up and do what you are expected to do. At the end of the week there's no one to say, "Hey, we made it through another week. Thanks for all you efforts and staying late the other day." As he told me, there's no point in trying hard. It doesn't get you anywhere because no one cares. So, while I was the diligent worker who understood the importance of a good relationship between employer and employee, my friend was more of the slave, just working away, another face on the floor, no appreciation. If he couldn't keep the job there were plenty of other people who would have been glad to take his place.
The less likely you are to get to know your employer the more likely you are to feel like just a worker, or if you like, another slave to the grind.
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GrapeKoolaid said on Jun 16, 2009....
hotaka: And you hit the nail right on the head. It is in the matter of perspective, as you rightly say. There is a big difference between feeling a valuable, essential member of a crew versus the long defeat of bureaucratic sinkhole.
You also bring up another important point, which is the difference between the employee as a person, as opposed to the number on a spreadsheet at the HR office. This type of "streamlining" or "efficiency" does have a dehumanizing aspect to it that people seldom discuss. A cog in the wheel, a slave to the grind. Not too far off, as you say.
Perhaps I should take my tinfoil hat off and resume pre-scheduled broadcast... What do you think? :)
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hotaka said on Jun 16, 2009....
Well, umm... tinfoil hat? Sure. Pre-scheduled broadcast? Did I miss something here?
As you like. This was an interesting topic and I enjoyed reading what you had to say. Whenever I write a comment of two or more paragraphs it is because the post inspired me to think and respond.
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lfbno7 said on Jun 21, 2009....
I would like to be a slave for Susanna Hoffs of the Bangles. Help her get dressed. Give her massages. -
pickersplock said on Jun 21, 2009....
You sure about that leafblower?I've heard she's let herself go. -
lfbno7 said on Jun 22, 2009....
That's okay she can let herself go, I'm fine with that. Just as long as she doesn't expect me to cook. -
pickersplock said on Jun 22, 2009....
She not only expects you to cook, she expects you to do laundry and windows! -
lfbno7 said on Jun 22, 2009....
well i hope she likes tuna sandwiches -
pickersplock said on Jun 22, 2009....
Well, they're not something she wants to have every night............ -
gingersoul said on Jun 22, 2009....
Susanna Hoffs? Uhmm.....cute, i agree....:-) -
lfbno7 said on Jun 22, 2009....
i can do pb&j or tuna, that's about it. perhaps i can make her a bologna sandwich. -
pickersplock said on Jun 24, 2009....
I'd skip the bologna..........it makes her gassy. -
lfbno7 said on Jun 25, 2009....
hmm, let's skip the bologna. -
pickersplock said on Jun 25, 2009....
I think that's best for all concerned.........stay away from the egg salad too. -
HoleInTheCosmos said on Oct 14, 2009....
Where's the cool aid?
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