I keep hearing from a few people that it's absolutely evil no matter what and no civilized society should ever tolerate it. I've also heard that if you ended up a slave, no matter the circumstances, you would do everything within your power to escape, but what I keep seeing is that none of you can seem to remove the lens of your modern life to see the other side in a more objctive way. Our freedoms are so fundamental now that it's considered reprehensible to infringe on them, even with the person's permission. So, I ask you, take off the lens of modern values and conditions and consider the following.
In ancient times, life was even more brutal and short than it is now. Many people had to go deep into debt just to feed their families (buying land to farm). If a man had a bad year, he could wind up in jail with his entire family either on the streets or the auction block. Unable to pay the regular payment meant they had to cough up the entire balance at once. There were no credit management services or home equity loans, it was pay or jail, and jail wasn't nice either. It was 4 walls, a floor, a ceiling, bread and water once a day, and, if you were lucky, a tiny window too high for you to see anything but sky. So this man walks up to you and says, "I'll pay off your entire debt plus some if you'll work in my fields for five years with no additional pay. Oh, and I'll feed and house you and your whole family the entire time, too." Would you consider that 'a barbaric practice,' that is 'absolutely evil' and 'morally reprehensible?'
What if an invading army came through? Legally, all the soldiers could rape, kill, and steal whatever they wanted. One of the few exceptions was the Israeli army, which neither raped nor stole, as everything was either destroyed or killed and then destroyed. Now, the commanding officer reigns in his men and tells the villagers that he will keep his soldiers at bay if some of them will spend a few years doing one job or another in and around a clean, civilized jewel of a city. Is what he did evil because it involves slavery?
How about those living in squalid conditions? Say you have nothing and can't even afford to eat. Maybe you're even sick due to dirty conditions. Do you continue to live this existance, knowing you probably don't have long to live or do you work for free for five years in exchange for food, shelter, clothing, and enough money to start a decent life for yourself at the end?
I think one of the things many fail to understand is that, unlike the African slaves, which were seen as intelligent pets at best, most slaves throughout history were considered people that basically worked for a wage, just like anybody else, but recieved that wage up front. Slaves had rights, and were protected against abuse, sexual assault from their owners (though soldiers got pretty much anything they wanted, but that's another story), inadequate food or living conditions, and many other rights infringements. Essentially, the slaveowner did not own the person himself, just his labor. Even in the arena, slaves had the same rights as volunteer combatants, and only Ceaser could order their deaths unless a slave was to bare his throat, asking for death. Only criminals could be killed without a direct order from Ceaser.
Also, to clarify once again, I tend to think that slavery is kinda gray, but I lean very much towards it being wrong. I am simply playing Devil's Advocate here, since slavery, once as much a part of everyday life as the internet is now, is almost universally seen as being 100% wrong in every context no matter what with pretty much no thought being put into the process. There are many things that are seen as very wrong, but to re-examine them from other perspectives is a good thing, as it helps people to understand why it's wrong.
