In today’s world, nothing elicits so much outrage than the subject of slavery. The bone of contention seems to be: why should one human being enslave another? Although people in the modern world may not fathom the rationale behind slavery, it is indeed true that slavery was an accepted institution in the ancient civilizations. It is even possible that slavery predates civilization. One of the reasons why slavery as a practice went on for so long was because enslavement of war prisoners and slavery as a punishment were accepted in the ancient civilizations. Nonetheless, such acts prompt the question of free will, and whether people should have the freedom to make choices without any restrictions. Despite the arguments raised for and against slavery, one thing is for sure: slavery is a form of exploitation rooted in socio-economic structures of poverty, discrimination, ignorance and tradition.
It is one record that slaves worked as household servants as well as in the agriculture and construction industries. For example, the Egyptians enslaved the Hebrews and Babylonians to work in the Pharaoh’s palace, and in the houses of other noble people. If the slaves carried themselves with decorum, they would later be promoted by their masters. The institution of slavery was also rampant in the ancient Greece (from 1200 BC- 323 AD). In Greece, most of the slaves came from war prisoners, and from the poor families steeped in debts. They would be used to work in the mines, in the farms, and in the wealthy households. The laws existing at that time gave the owners complete power over the slaves. The slaves had no rights, and they had to buy those rights through giving outstanding service to their owners.
Slavery was also practiced in the Roman Empire (from 27 BC- 476 AD). It is on record that slaves used to work in the Roman plantations turned agriculture around and made it a profitable venture. It is also on record that the Roman Empire could not have been built without the muscles of slaves. Slavery was so rampant that at some point, the number of slaves outnumbered the number of free people by three times. The slaves had no rights to buy property or to marry. However, they could buy the right to become citizens. Nonetheless, the slaves were treated brutally, and sometimes the reasons for their continued stay in slavery were frivolous. For example, slaves could be held accountable for the death of their master for failure to prevent his death. Given this circumstances, it is little wonder that the fall of the Roman Empire was occasioned by revolt of slaves.
The concept of fate was one of the reasons used to justify slavery. The people believed that slaves were different from their owners, and thus they could be denied some basic human rights. This is the reason why slaves were used to do hard labour, and live in worse conditions. It is also on record that slaves would work for long hours without pay. Their lives were also deplorable and many died because of the hard labour and the poor living conditions. Nonetheless, slavery was a booming industry in the ancient civilizations and their contribution to the economies of the master countries could not be underestimated.
Consequently, the ancient cultures believed so much in fate. If something favorable happened to them, it was because they supernatural powers had blessed their lives, and wanted it that way. If they lost in war, or experienced some nasty events like droughts, it was because their supernatural powers were not happy with them, and they were punishing them. It is in light of this that slavery was an accepted form of punishment. On one hand, those who supported slavery believed that the people under them should be used in the manner they determine, while on the other hand, the slaves believed that they would be free some day when their supernatural powers so determined. Nonetheless, the slavery has died down in the last century, and there are valid reasons given against the practice. The concept of freedom, for instance, has been one of the major reasons for abolishing slavery.
Humans have a great sense of freedom. Everyone wants to be free to make choices, without his basic rights being curtailed. This espouses the concept of free will, which is the ability to make choices without any restrictions. Nonetheless, it is important to understand that the free is under the control of metaphysical, physical, social and mental factors. The ancient civilizations cleverly used metaphysical, physical and social constraints to restrict the freedoms of some people, and this brought about the concept of slavery. Metaphysical factors used to support slavery relied on theological determinism. This is the belief that all the events are predetermined, and they are destined to happen. This explains the concept of fate as passed down several general in the ancient civilizations.
Slavery thrived in those days because of the existing social structures which threatened people with imprisonment and punishment. Again, the people defined freedom with a determinism twist to it. They held the view that there must have been a reason for the people to be enslaved, and their authority could not be questioned because the same super powers had given them that right. Their fate could have been as a result of punishment, or something close to that. They only way they could buy their way to freedom was through finishing up the punishment. In their world, fate is used synonymously with destiny.
In the recent past, the practice of slavery has been condemned. The practice has been abolished after the realization that human beings should be free from servitude and any forms of trade promoting the practice. The rationale behind this is that slavery is a form of exploitation, and human beings should be free from exploitation in this day and age. Ancient civilizations justified slavery for a number of reasons, but none of the reasons holds any water today. Although people have not completely moved away from the belief that their fate is predetermined, the same argument cannot be used to justify slavery.
References
Basinger, D., & Basinger, R. (1986). Predestination & Free Will. Westmont, IL: InterVarsity
Press.
Cunningham, L., & Reich, J. (2012). Culture and Values, Vol. 1, 7th ed. With Readings . Boston:
Wadsworth.
Gochberg, D. S., Harrow, K. W., Graham, E. D., & Dulai, S. S. (2002). World Literature and
Thought, Volume 1 : The Ancient Worlds. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Thomson Learning.
