Would you own slaves now if it was legal?

Hoffer was one of the last of the old school intuitive geniuses. The problem with him was that he didn't realize he was a True Believer himself.

 

"Would you own slaves now if it was legal?"

I believe it is still legal in Mauritania. The question revolves around the word to "own". What is the difference between a slave and a payed-by-the-hour housekeeper? The problem here is typical .... let your imagination run away with your mind because of horror stories from the past. It's the same problem with understanding Communism: most Americans envision forced labour camps in the gulag and Stalin having scores of people executed. That's not Communism and slavery need not be whips and chains. So, as far as I can see, a modern-day slave would be someone who is housed and fed for his/her chores with or without pocket money .... but who is a legal possession able to be bought and sold. No, I would not own a slave for that reason.

 

You might be right, so kick some azz instead and tell them why you see it as race-baiting.

 

I ignored the drive-by inanity since it contained nothing of any merit.

While it is still early days for this thread it is interesting to note that there has been only minimal mention of race and BIPARTISAN agreement that slave owning is NOT something that people today could see themselves embracing.

 

Be that as it may, although I can't guess what mass movement you think he was a True Believer in, his framework is quite good at explaining the Trump movement.

It is also quite good at understanding the present Progressive orgy of looting, arson, vandalism and the politics of personal destruction raging on social media.

I find you conception of humans as rational, problem solving, animals totally inadequate. And you find it so yourself. Perhaps you should reconsider your ideas.

 

All the more reason for Bridget to explain herself.

 

Why do you find that conception inadequate, and what have I ever said that makes you think I find it so?

 

I find the conception that humans are rational problem solving animals is inadequate to explain their repeated and prolonged descents into irrationality.

That you find it so I gather from this post of yours. A man with a robust understanding of human nature should not be so easily baffled.

 

The next big wave of 'slavery' is seen in ROBOTS! And I'm not just talking about machines that can flip burgers, find and retrieve products in a giant warehouse maze, and a thousand other things.

One of the next really BIG things is going to be SEX robots/slaves (the Japanese are working furiously to perfect them, night and day).

You will be able to program them to do whatever you like, and when you're done, you simply hit the "off" switch!

And best of all, you never have to listen to any mind-numbing 'UP-TALKING'!

.Big improvement over "blow-up" dolls... right?

 

I don't think the guy was lying so much as naively thinking that anyone can find an altruistic boss willing to teach him usable work skills with no strings attached as he managed to do. I also very much disagree with his tacit belief that the compensation paid to corporate CEOs is perfectly fine. He again appears to naively believe those CEOs earned such compensation strictly through hard work. As if the "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" philosophy which is so prevalent in corporate board rooms when you, as a CEO, sit on your friend's board of directors and vice versa has absolutely nothing to do with that.

 

A Professor asks that same question.

I sometimes ask students what their position on slavery would have been had they been white and living in the South before abolition. Guess what? They all would have been abolitionists! They all would have bravely spoken out against slavery, and worked tirelessly against it.


But wait, there's more!

Of course, this is nonsense. Only the tiniest fraction of them, or of any of us, would have spoken up against slavery or lifted a finger to free the slaves. Most of them—and us—would have gone along. Many would have supported the slave system and happily benefited from it.

Exactly, which is why this thread's premise is silly.


So I respond by saying that I will credit their claims if they can show evidence of the following: that in leading their lives today they have stood up for the rights of unpopular victims of injustice whose very humanity is denied, and where they have done so knowing:

(1) that it would make them unpopular with their peers,
(2) that they would be loathed and ridiculed by powerful, influential individuals and institutions in our society;
(3) that they would be abandoned by many of their friends,
(4) that they would be called nasty names, and
(5) that they would risk being denied valuable professional opportunities as a result of their moral witness. In short, my challenge is to show where they have at risk to themselves and their futures stood up for a cause that is unpopular in elite sectors of our culture today.

Anyone doing that?