How Hidden Versions of Slavery Still Exist
While this article will focus on this topic from a uniquely American standpoint, lets not kid ourselves and pretend that this is not a global occurrence.
While human property slavery was outlawed in the US in 1865, by the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution, slavery still exists, is widespread and is highly pervasive. I am not even talking about people being hidden in the basement for years.
In the modern era, the types of widespread slavery that I am appealing this inquiry toward occur primarily in one of two types: economic, or wage, slavery and debt slavery; although they seem to be most prevalent and powerful in combination.
In order to build this critique of modernity I take a powerfully broad definition of slavery for granted. Under this definition we describe slavery as: the benefit of one’s labor belonging more unto another than unto themselves. This definition implies that if you make your employer, shareholders, etc. more than you are being compensated for your work then you are a slave. Under the scope of this definition most ‘free people’ both in the US, and around the world would, by definition are slaves. The only difference is that they are not the human property of another particular individual whom is responsible for their health and well-being.
