3 ms·
"Slavery is any system in which principles of property law are applied to people, allowing individuals to own, buy and sell other individuals, as a de jure form
by fiter 7y ago
"Slavery is any system in which principles of property law are applied to people, allowing individuals to own, buy and sell other individuals, as a de jure form of property."
Is this system in fact slavery?
- jakelazaroff 7y agoYes. A few sentences after your quote [1]: > Many scholars now use the term chattel slavery to refer to this specific sense of legalised, de jure slavery. In a broader sense, however, the word slavery may also refer to any situation in which an individual is de facto forced to work against their own will. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery
- fiter 7y agoAh, I suppose I would have less concern with this more broad definition of slavery. A child being forced to do chores would qualify as slavery in this case, right?
- jakelazaroff 7y agoHuman language and human behavior are both very squishy, so it's unlikely we'll come up with an objective definition that everyone can agree upon in all cases. I wouldn't define slavery strictly in terms of the law because then things like human trafficking are excluded. Cast your net wide enough and sure, children being forced to do chores would qualify. At some point you just have to draw an arbitrary line in the sand and say "this is slavery, that is not".