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Is slavery a matter of perspective?

Is slavery a matter of perspective?

  • Total voters
    29
Blackdog said:
We are not talking about volunteering for service. We are talking about conscription or drafting of UNWILLING participants into any military org.
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Draft = no choice. Draft = slavery.

Conscription does not include a draft. Conscripts are willing soldiers.
 
Gipper said:
Draft = no choice. Draft = slavery.

Conscription does not include a draft. Conscripts are willing soldiers.
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Conscription, also known as the draft or national service, is the compulsory enrolment of people and the term typically refers to their enlistment in a country's military.[1] It is known by various names, for example, the most recent conscription program in the United States was known colloquially as "the draft". Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues to the present day. It was used by the Royal Navy between 1664 and 1814 but was called impressment, or "the press".[2]
 
Gipper said:
Draft = no choice. Draft = slavery.

Conscription does not include a draft. Conscripts are willing soldiers.
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Draft = conscription.

Conscription -

1.compulsory enrollment of persons for military or naval service; draft.

2.a compulsory contribution of money to a government during a time of war.

We agree, but you are making a judgment based on incorrect semantics.
 
My bad.

I was under the impression that conscription was voluntary self-admission, nto a draft.

In that case, conscription would be slavery. Volunteering is not.
 
megaprogman said:
I think this is less political and more philosophical. However, the answer has profound political implications I think.

Now there are obvious extremes that everyone would agree with. There are some very obvious forms of slavery, such as forced labor or sex. Also, there are obvious examples of the free man, such as the 1800s frontier farmer who is beholden to no-one.

What I am more curious about is people's thoughts about the more borderline cases. Examples could possibly include taxation for things a person does not like, oppressive social expectations (a woman belongs in the home!), forced life choices due to constraints, etc. Are these things an example of a type slavery or not? Why?
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In it's most simplistic form slavery is, being forced to work for the benefit of another.

If there is no force, there is no slavery.
 
Gipper said:
My bad.

I was under the impression that conscription was voluntary self-admission, nto a draft.

In that case, conscription would be slavery. Volunteering is not.
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Absolutely not. Conscription is coercion but there is no concept of property. Slavery requires human beings being property.
 
Korimyr the Rat said:
You're fortunate to live in a time and a place where you can't tell the difference between honest labor and slavery. For the majority of human history, you would have learned the difference at the end of a whip.
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My lineage goes back to Roman Times. they held the whip.:shock:
 
I thank God daily for giving me the Courage to live FREE, and by no mans leave.
 
Harry Guerrilla said:
You don't have to be bought and sold, if there is only one owner.
If you can't make a choice of whether or not you want to do something, you are enslaved to that person or entity.
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My only problem with that definition is that it would mean any law, including things we all agree on like murder, is slavery.
 
NoJingoLingo said:
Slavery is when one benefits from the labor of another in inequity. Capitalism is slavery.
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By the same token, one could say that the provision of welfare is slavery.

No matter one's perspective, every single life requires labor, either paid or forced.
 
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Harry Guerrilla said:
Murderers eliminate the choice of the pre-murder victim, so it is an anti slavery law.
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But it also has a coercive effect on the murderer due to the threat of punishment, this is essentially how any law works.
 
megaprogman said:
But it also has a coercive effect on the murderer due to the threat of punishment, this is essentially how any law works.
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Sure but you have to weigh which is greater, to enslave a person for no logical reason or enslave a person for a logical reason.

Murder is an act of unreasonable force, like theft.
 
NoJingoLingo said:
Any form of imposing authority on another is oppression at the least. Slavery is when one benefits from the labor of another in inequity.
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Given your defitnion, would you agree that slavery also covers forcing people to provide welfare benefits?
Why not?
 
Harry Guerrilla said:
You don't have to be bought and sold, if there is only one owner.
If you can't make a choice of whether or not you want to do something, you are enslaved to that person or entity.
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Give me an example in America where you do not have a choice.
 
reefedjib said:
Give me an example in America where you do not have a choice.
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We are not talking about just America. We are talking about slavery in general as a term and if it is subjective.
 
Blackdog said:
We are not talking about just America. We are talking about slavery in general as a term and if it is subjective.
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No example then? Ok, how about in the world. Give me an example.
 
Harry Guerrilla said:
Sure but you have to weigh which is greater, to enslave a person for no logical reason or enslave a person for a logical reason.

Murder is an act of unreasonable force, like theft.
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The problem with that response is than you get into a discussion of whether moral considerations are sufficient for this type of enslavement. This is why I never like "greater good" arguments.
 
Goobieman said:
Given your defitnion, would you agree that slavery also covers forcing people to provide welfare benefits?
Why not?
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To be honest it is not. You are not being forced to do anything. You are paying your taxes to support the government. After that it is not your money to control.

You are represented by others who then decide what the money is used for.

It is allot of things, slavery is not one of them.
 
reefedjib said:
Give me an example in America where you do not have a choice.
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Child support and alimony.
Registering for selective service, is a quasi choice.
You can not do it but you will face sanctions.

I have few choices when it comes to superficial things like which TV channels I want to buy.
My choices on insurance have been limited.

There are many things where your choices are restrained or eliminated.
 
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