Being free but indebted is not really as bad as being forced to work someone else's land. I owe my bank a significant sum, but I am able to find work that sched

Being free but indebted is not really as bad as being forced to work someone else's land. I owe my bank a significant sum, but I am able to find work that schedules both a repayment of that debt as well as a nice profit and accumulation of assets for myself on the side. That is not possible under slavery or serfdom. I owe my bank money, but I don't owe them my life, as they cannot require that I pay them back under such an inefficient and disenfranchising mechanism.