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In the case of slavery, even subordination could lead to misery and death. What would have happened if every slave had simply stopped responding and refused to
by flyinRyan 13y ago
In the case of slavery, even subordination could lead to misery and death. What would have happened if every slave had simply stopped responding and refused to do work for even one minute? They'd be beaten and tortured but if they kept it up, their people wouldn't be enslaved anymore as doing so would just be a waste of money and time.
Obviously you couldn't get that many people to allow themselves to be tortured to death to prevent future enslavement, but the thought exercise makes it appear that the GP's assertion has merit even if it's not entirely practical.
- smackay 13y agoThere is the case of the Haitian Revolution, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haitian_Revolution https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haitian_Revolution, where that is exactly what happened.
- chr1 13y ago> their people wouldn't be enslaved anymore as doing so would just be a waste of money and time. Doesn't look like a big win to me. Native Americans were not very popular as slaves, so they were simply killed instead...
- ebrenes 13y agoWell, it somewhat worked with religious martyrs of various denominations. I'm thinking of Christian martyrs and Islamic ones for example, where the act of resisting was in itself a way to transcend death. I think in the end it's all a matter of how you sell it. There wasn't a unifying story for all those enslaved africans to rally behind. In the end there needs to be a narrative that pushes people into openly rebelling against the status quo.