this post was submitted on 23 Aug 2023
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Okay hate on capitalism, fair enough
But equating it to literal slavery like we've had in the past (and still have in some parts of the world) seems problematic to me
What literal slavery? The pyramids weren’t built with slave labor.
There's a dude with a whip in the picture, so it seems like the artist believes it was slave labor
It’s a common misconception.
Having 100% exclusive rights over the fruits of a person's labor, so, a job.
Ever applied for a mortgage?
But they don't. I can end this arrangement at any point in time.
Yes, and I can't remember anyone forcing me to buy this specific apartment, or preventing me from selling it and moving anywhere else.
Regardless, my point wasn't that work isn't slavery, my point is that the pyramids weren't built with slave labor.
— Frederick Douglass
I suspect that most other actual slaves would not entirely agree with that sentiment
Frederick Douglass the famous non-slave
Your original stance was that it is "problematic" to equate them. Do you think it was problematic for Fredrick Douglass to equate them? If not then your original position has to change.
We don't have polling on prior chattel slave views on wage slavery, but since you're making a habit of just going with your gut, I'll do the same. I'd wager most prior chattel slaves would've been more than happy to abolish all forms of slavery (including wage slavery).
Douglass died in 1895 when the standard of living was wildly lower than what it is today, its not an equivalent comparison
“Gee, I know I said all that about wage slavery, but who could have predicted iPhones and corn syrup. This is great!”
Read the shit you’re making claims about.
Why don't you do the same? Your original quote is 137 years old. It is in fact problematic to equate the economic landscape of 2023 to that of 1886. In that quote Douglass is specifically criticizing the treatment of freed slaves, not capitalism in general. (If you want to convince people capitalism is bad, you need to make valid criticisms, not twist old quotes to suit your narrative)
we definitely still have slavery in America. Like, in America. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of companies that outsource their slavery to other countries and then ship the product here so we can pretend it's not made by slaves, but plenty of companies skip the middle man and just use slaves here
Never mind the foreign interest campaigns to get Americans to be less productive