Slavery

‘Slavery is, receiving by irresistible power the work of another man, and not by his consent.’
– Rev. Garrison Frazier (a slave for 59 years)

By this definition, anyone who receives the work of another (or the money that comes from that work) without the consent of the one taken from, and without the one taken from being able to effectively resist, has enslaved the one taken from, to the extent of the receiving.

The rich receiving what is taken from the poor, against the will of the poor, is enslavement of the poor.

The poor receiving from the rich what is taken by irresistible power and without consent, is enslaving the rich.

If slavery is wrong, it matters not the station of the one enslaved nor the degree of enslavement (or conversely, the amount of freedom remaining).

I find it illuminating that Ref. Frazier who, at age 59, bought freedom for himself and his wife, defined slavery as the receiving, not the taking. Thus, taking by irresistible power for the common good (defense, courts of justice, law enforcement, necessary infrastructure) is not enslavement. Transfer payments – the taking from one person or several persons and giving the proceeds to another person or several persons – are slavery.

One must either reject Rev. Frazier’s definition (14 former slaves and 5 black men born free agreed with Rev. Frazier’s definition when he spoke it) or admit that roughly 2/3 of the U.S. Federal budget involves enslaving some of the population so that others may receive what is taken by irresistible force.

If words have meanings, there is no third alternative.

By the way, I care not how the decision to enslave was made. If I am unwillingly enslaved by majority vote of my fellows, whether that majority chooses to enslave themselves or not, I am still unwillingly, tyrannically, and unjustly enslaved. No one, other than myself, and no majority can determine my consent. There are some things so wrong that no majority can make them right.

Unless you believe slavery is moral and just under some circumstances.

We’ve come a long way, haven’t we?

Does it make you proud?