DO YOU THINK THAT SLAVERY PLAYS A GREAT ROLE IN WHAT WE have today?

Question

i read a book: Emperor. And i came to realise that ancient rome, ancient egyptians, ancient china, etc, they all had slaves to build monuments, great civilizations and eventually an empire. Im not saying that it is ethical, especially now in the modern world, it would be unacceptable. However, from a historical view, was there an alternative? Do u think that it contributes greatly to what we are enjoying today? Without them, we would not achieve many things right?

I repeat, im not supporting slavery, so pls do not hurl insults at me.

Answer 1

Slavery continued in history, as long as the machines substituted them. It is a simple example. In our household, we have been engaging cooks, servant maid for washing etc. And in most households, these tasks are performed by the machines. So, in history, slaves were doing all the works of drudgery. The big monuments that they built are now done with the aid of machinery.

Answer 2

Whoever said slavery has ended 'especially now in the modern world'. Employer-employee relations still bear much resemblance to the ancient patterns of slavery. The terms of engagement, may be 'more voluntary' now, it is still by recruitment--in which workers have no choice but to work; job details are not much different--we still build monuments; and the cost of disengagement yet borders on life and death. Call it whatever you want, slave conditions reflect in the modern monuments and our great civilisation. This is not refering to the Atlantic slavery. A more horrific term should be found for that.

The challenge to build a more equitable world still subsists and until that is achieved, barring rhetoric, the organising principles of society will remain slavery.

Answer 3

I think having a massive workforce to create the monuments and empires they did was a necessity- using their own (and other) peoples for a military force to control and contain.Many other people seem to forget that every people and every color went through horrible torture, loss and slavery at one point of history or another- humanity is cruel and ruthless when it comes to this- its the promise of a better world in which we concentrate on our own personal growth that keeps us in belief of it sometimes. Americas use was an extention of what history had been throwing around for years-wrong, and lasting far past that of the main part of the world giving it up- also horrible on how we treated people AFTER they were supposedly free. It will be a huge undertaking to progress the human race to a point that we are actually color blind and able to work together to benefit all- what amazing architectural and technical marvel will we see then? I think actually more than ever in the past-something to look forward to and something achieveable- though maybe not in our lifetime....I think its will be a slow and painful birth and the fighting of and against that very thing is what we are seeing in the terror and hurt of the modern world. The egg is rattling though and that gives one hope!

Answer 4

Imagine Boston's Big Dig, the Interstate Highway system, or the Golden Gate Bridge entirely built by forced labor. That would be the modern day equivalent of the past practice of using vanquished enemies and purchased human beings as slave labor for large municipal building projects like the pyramids.

In the US, slave laborers contributed more on a local level, working for a particular landowner, rather than for government sponsored megaprojects like those of antiquity. The perception that the United States owes its current day prosperity to the past practice of utilization of slave labor until 1865 is a myth at best, a carefully crafted lie at worst.

The alternative to slave labor was grapically demonstrated not too many years after the Emanciaption Proclamation in America's first megaproject, in 1869. The Transcontinental Railroad, a massive, hugely expensive project that would, from a historical perspective, appear to be ideally suited for the application of slave labor, was instead built by workers who were financially incented to perform the difficult, often dangerous work required.

While slavery remains as wrong today as it was in 1850 A.D. or 3500 B.C., the practice continues unabated in the less prosperous parts of the world. It remains a scourge.


Darth Serious

Answer 5

I don't think Slavery has any real basis as a contribution to modern society. Yes, it served it's purpose in getting "wonders" such as the Great Pyramids and Great Wall built, but the real purpose of Slavery is now a reminder of how bad men can be. There were many alternatives to Slavery, such as the "indentured servants", but most of what we enjoy today actually came from the minds of indivuals such as Fulton, Whitney, Edison and Ford. They all came up with ideas that allowed us to do the work of hundreds of men using few or none. This allowed men who would be Slaves to be anything from a professor to a Professional Athelete to a ditch digger or a drug dealer.

Answer 6

Slavery was never abolished, that`s an illusion. The smart slaves knew that, which is why many opposed being freed and stayed right where they were before. Are you really free? IMO one has to choose to be free to be free.

Answer 7

I don't believe so. It may have helped produce wealth for plantation owners, but I don't believe they built all the much that hasn't since been destroyed. In the absence of labor, technology will increase. The cotton gin, automatic phone switches, refrigerators instead of ice boxes, etc.

Answer 8

salvery is one of the foundations of civilization. forced free labor built mostly everything! at least today they pay us a little, but employment isn't too far off from slavery...

Answer 9

yes it has a great impact on our lives now. I don't think life would be like it is now if it weren't for slavery.

Answer 10

I think that in the end slavery probably hurt the u.s more than it helped. We had a civil war where millions of Americans killed each other, that is not an exaggeration the death totals were well into the millions.

If it weren't for slavery in the u.s I don't think that we would have overpopulated ghettos that are plagued by drug addiction and gang violence.