Capitalism and slavery are distinct institutions only through obfuscation of their guiding principles. Although proponents of capitalism celebrate the economic growth and individual freedoms allotted by capitalist society, they fail to recognize its ethical and moral implications. We would be remiss to compare our moral condition directly to that of the slaves, but we would be more remiss not to.
Both systems are principally exploitative. Directly forced labor via slavery is clearly criminal, oppressive, and dehumanizing. On the other hand, capitalism utilizes wage labor, which allows some semblance of choice and freedom, even if it is the “choice and freedom” to work for the owning class or starve. Capitalist society fails to address the power imbalance between classes that allows for the wage arrangement to be considered beneficial and somehow morally correct. Low wages, long working hours, and poor working conditions leads many workers to a cycle of poverty and exploitation akin to the lack of agency experienced by the enslaved.
The exploitation of labor in either system necessarily leads to the commodification of human beings. In slavery, people are reduced to property and objects of trade. In capitalism, labor itself is commodified, so that even if the worker is not directly owned, the market determines the value of his time, efforts, and like a slave, his value. Although capitalists argue that this maximizes wealth and allocates resources with ruthless efficiency, they fail to recognize how the commodification of labor disregards the inherent dignity and worth of individuals, reducing them in turn to mere factors of production.
Slavery bases its strict caste system on who is and who is not to be a factor of production, which is decided strictly by race. Capitalism, although not explicitly guided by by race, exacerbates racial and social tensions and contributes to economic inequality, replacing the caste system instead with the class system. Apologists of capitalism argue that these disparities are the natural result of a meritocratic system, while failing to address historical disadvantages, systemic barriers, and unequal access to opportunities that perpetuate those disparities.
Because both systems are exploiting humans for the benefit of those occupying the highest rungs of society, while lacking moral or logical justification, they must be upheld by fiat. Slavery was upheld by arguments of racial superiority, religious belief, and economic necessity. Capitalism simply adds ideals like meritocracy, individualism, and the invisible hand of the market. Regardless, both the institutions of capitalism and slavery rely on ideological constructs which justify the exploitation of certain groups of people for the benefit of others.
To maintain power by fiat both systems must rely on preservation of the status quo and resistance to change. Enslavers argued that abolition would lead to economic collapse and social chaos. Capitalists continue those arguments with appeals to individual liberty which is identified with economic prosperity, and by fear mongering that reforming a nearly unregulated capitalist system would inhibit economic growth and prosperity, and therefore hinder personal freedom. In either case, resistance to change reflects a reluctance to address the fundamental injustices and inequities inherent to each system.
While capitalism and slavery are somewhat distinct in their enforcement, they share in the exploitation and commodification of human life, perpetuate disastrous social hierarchies, rely on illogical and immoral ideological justifications, and resist all change. By acknowledging these parallels, we can strive for a future in which we all share in upholding the principles of equality, prosperity, freedom, and justice we espouse.
We may not know precisely what system is next, only that it is certain that people will look back on us with a combination of pity and disgust, much the same as we look back on the slaves and enslavers. Whenever we become so crushed that we may not survive peacefully, it is not survival that we will abandon.
We will only play the slave so long as we can endure it.