Cui bono? Slavery and Colonialism obsession
The constant browbeating of a practice that was outlawed in the west a very long time ago appears as a mechanism to provide social justice. However, I contend it has no such outcome.
Recently the Daily Mail published an article titled in the way only a dying industry could do, “National Railway Museum will investigate STEAM TRAINS for links to slavery and colonialism […]”
Modern slavery is rife in the modern economy. Unless you produce, without any input from any entity outside a WEIRD (Western, educated, industrialized, rich and democratic). Even then, there are instances of legalised slave labour — in the modern American penal system people under detention take on labour, like the production of car license plates.
An argument can be made that there’s the possibility that people who make the plates are doing so under their own free will. But in reality, they don’t. This labour is excused explicitly from the 13th amendment. In a not so far off future, you could imagine studies being published on the links to slavery in our modern economy in the same way.
If today we have little to no chance of economically escaping the reality of slave labour — what possible chance did they have in the past? Historically Britain outlawed the open practice of slave labour inside her borders, by 1807 it was made illegal for anyone belonging to the realm to engage any part of the human trade (transportation and the like).
It is safer to assume that near everything has been tainted by the stench of slavery in some way than it is worth investigating the exact links.
However, I do wonder if there’s a force outside of those wishing to understand history to a tighter and tighter tolerance — is there someone who stands to gain from the reputation destruction of media hyper-focused on the specific instances of where slavery can be detected?
Is there an economic power in the world that is trying to justify its current practices by referencing everyone else's historical behaviour?
Just a thought.
