Actually i believe wholeheartedly in slavery, i just dont believe in the way the Americans did it. Before America came along, owning slaves was a very honorable thing. Africans had tribal wars and the winner of the war would enslave the losing tribe ala survival of the fittest. Big man take all, call it what you will, these people worked for their slaves and it was a very common thing. Of course Americans came along sans honor and handled slavery with lies, deceit, and money. Believe me, nothing has changed today.
Oh, by the way, most of you will probably disagree with what i’ve just said because of your upbringing. Try to break out of those cultural bindings, if only for a minute, and look at this from an independant standpoint, unbiased by religion or social stigma.
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- Uh, I’m not certain, but I see to recall that, generally speaking, males taken as slaves were neutered/castrated (which had a considerable death rate) and females were freely used for sex and often impregnated ASAP, which was no small concern due to high maternity death rates. This was definitely common practice in ancient Greece; I’d be surprised if middle or southern African tribes were any less brutal to their slaves. I know of no records though because there’s not a lot of solid info on ancient middle and southern African cultures available.
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- OTOH, African tribal culture is still running strong in many places; those are the same places the State Department usually tells you to avoid.
-Honor, my ass. - MC
Wow, i must be psychic. Someone used their biased Americanism against my post 
Slavery continues today in parts of Africa. Slaves are $50. There is a group that came under fire for buying and freeing slaves, because it was thought that they were supporting the slavery business.
How is it “biased Americanism” to point out that pre-modern cultures in fact physically brutalized their slaves? Unless you think being upset at the prospect of being castrated is just some kind of cultural thing.
MC:
How common was it for white masters to impregnate their black slaves? Incredibly common. Oh, there were plenty of little brown chillun running around who looked just like Massa.
But a person did not have to be an “ethnically pure” black to remain a slave. The laws in different regions varied, but you were still considered black–and could be enslaved–if you were 1/8 black in some regions. In other regions, you just had to have “one drop of black blood” to be considered black. So the demise of slavery had nuthin’ to do with the lightening of the slave population.
[hijack]I’m surprised at how many people don’t know this. What the heck are they teaching you people in your so-called history classes?[/hijack]
To answer the OP:
The cost of a slave varied widely, depending on any number of factors. But $2000 sounds like a good enough figure to use as an average price in the antebellum period.
To buy one today would cost far more than a car–but it is hard to figure out how much one would cost. We can’t simply extrapolate from 1857 dollars. The cost of a slave was directly linked to the potential earnings of his/her labor and offspring. So first, we’d have to figure out what we would do with a slave in today’s economy.
Moral issues aside, I wouldn’t own a slave. You get more from your money with free-market labor.
I agree that hiring a mexican for less than minimum wage would be far cheaper than owning a slave today. It would have gone away on its own eventually im sure. ::prepares for the flames on what a racist i am:: Im not saying its right or wrong to hire mexicans for less than minimum wage, but it is a fact that it happens commonly.
Survival of the fittest is a valid argument as long as it ethically justifies the actions that it implies. If slavery were a necessary condition to achieve survival, then ethics would validate its actions. If not, slavery would be amoral and reproachable.
As it turns out, the involvement of the human race with slavery has been directed more towards its complacency and search for convenience than to its survival, hence, the fact that most of us at the SDMB disapprove it and regard it as a step closer to the dehumanization of our species.
Dehumanization been used in the romantic sense here, that is, taken to mean that everything which is in conflict with universally accepted ethical values tends to degrade the human species as a whole.
Of course, ethical values are subjective and far away from being universally agreed upon. And what above was considered as inhumane, could be easily conceptualized as an essential part of human nature, kind of humanity’s evil doppelganger. A brief look at our history would no doubt prove it.
Thus, human nature would include evilness and wickedness, which in turn means that acting in such ways would not be inhumane. But arguments such as this deviate us from a very interesting and potentially constructive discussion into the deeply convoluted realm of the paradoxical.
That point being made, I shall migrate to other threads.
All right! Tag, you’re it.
I don’t want modern-day slavery, no matter how honorable, simply because I don’t want to be a slave. It has nothing at all to do with Americanism and more to do with the fact that there is no guarentee that I would be immune to enslavement. If I’m not willing to lose my freedom, I shouldn’t expect it from someone esle.
So Cisco, would you be willing to be a slave as long as it was done in an honorable manner? To give up 7, 10, or 20 years of freedom to make your own life decisions to serve a master just as long as they treat you nice?
Well everybody seems to be thouroughly missing my point…but…in answer to your question, no, of course i wouldnt be willing to be a slave, nor would i be willing to be a prisoner today no matter what heinous crime i commited. I’d run. And keep running, and run and run and run. And when i got done running, I’d run some more. I think life on the lamb would be fun.
Lam. Life on the lam would be fun. Life on the lamb would have PETA on your ass, and no one wants that.
It’d be fun to wear merkins, too, wouldn’t it? What a hoot.
Hey i happen to like lamb’s so lay off, OK?!!!
Hmm using brutalizing slaves as a valid point… You know the Mayans cut off the head of the captain of the losing team.
I however am not in favor of slavery because slavery has to be an instution of the rich and im not rich nor do i ever want to be.
In my previous incarnation on this planet I was a highly important historical figure. Surrounded by unimaginable riches, I delighted myself in the benefits inherent to having slaves at my service.
One of those obedient slaves is the man now known as Cecil Adams.
Well, things have a way of evening out.
In my actual carnal existence I am a slave of this message board. A message board whose master and sole sovereign is one of the guys I used to mistreat and exploit. While now Cecil Adams–we used to call him Bungo back then-- is the smartest man on the planet, possibly the galaxy and maybe even of the whole damned universe. While I am plain old Quasar.
Pathetic? Maybe
Ironic? Not according to Scylla–but that’s another story.
Divine justice? Assuming there is a God, possibly.
Coincidence? I think not.
The Supreme Beings that preside over the universe have degraded me into the decadent matter I now am as a punishment for my previous sins. Slavery was one of those sins.
So is slavery good?
That is for you to judge. All I can tell you is this: if you slave others, you might be the master now, but you are slaving yourself for eternity. Is it worth it?
Your call.