• hark@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Automation means that proportionally fewer slaves can provide more. That “denies the slave’s existence as a human being” bit is rather vague. Are you saying modern slavery is not denying the slave’s existence as a human being? What does that mean?

    • gowan@reddthat.com
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      1 year ago

      Chattel slavery literally denied that slaves were human beings. They were seen as something less than the way many westerners view all animals.

      • Brahm1nmam@lemmy.sdf.org
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        1 year ago

        The way they’re viewed really isn’t the problem. Someone being imprisoned and forced to work really isn’t affected by the man with the whips opinions of them, because of they slave away they don’t get whipped. They’re existence has been stripped too bare for such distinction to make a difference. Slavery is like war and war never changes.

        • gowan@reddthat.com
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          1 year ago

          That simply isn’t true. When your slaver looks at you as less than human they can justify a lot of mistreatment they would not do to another person.

          There’s a reason why Western chattel slavery is so vilified because almost every other nation still thought of slaves as people. Chattel slavery thinks of them like livestock.

      • hark@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        How is that different from current slaves? Attitude of the general population? Doesn’t seem to make much practical difference.

        • gowan@reddthat.com
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          1 year ago

          You know how you don’t think a monkey is the same thing as a human? It’s like that, slaves were seen as smarter than a monkey but not people.

          • hark@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            Again, that makes little to no practical difference to the slave, they’re getting abused just the same.

            • Jax@sh.itjust.works
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              1 year ago

              Point to the time where prisoners in the U.S. were stacked up on boats and shipped across the Atlantic for months at a time.

              You don’t see prisoners treated like cargo here. Don’t get me wrong, they aren’t treated well, but there are certain factors here that I don’t think you’re considering.

            • gowan@reddthat.com
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              1 year ago

              It makes difference in the kind of treatment they can expect. You likely are less concerned with your pet’s opinions of things than your family fir example because they are people.