Slavery was endemic to the Ancient
World probably since days of Cain
Slavery was endemic to the Ancient World for one very salient reason: many occupations were not productive unless a large and cheap labor force was available. Agriculture, mining, artisan production and even wealthy households could not function without a cheap labor supply. With the emphasis on cheap slave labor was the usual source of cheap labor. Certainly it was one of the goals of conquest to capture a large labor supply for the conqueror and any surplus was sold abroad. Life for a slave could range from very brutal conditions, gallery oarsman, to very comfortable conditions, steward of a wealthy house hold like Joseph in Egypt (Ge 39:1-5). Without slavery the Ancient World would not have developed and our lives would be very different today.
Child Labor was another cheap labor source
Something Occurred to Make it Abhorrent
Child labor has existed for as long as there have been families and was considered normal for much of the world’s history. Why was child labor even necessary? The simple answer is: Poverty. Some estimates place the children’s contribution to family income as high as 25%. Thus, if child labor had ceased; the family usually would have starved. This regular and reproducible cheap labor supply was vital to family survival in many instances. A report by the International Journal of Health Sciences (Int J Health Sci (Qassim). 2011 Jul; 5(2 Suppl 1): 48–49. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3533357/.) estimated that 168 million children were trapped in child labor. Their solution: government should give money to parents so children can get an education. As usual socialism is the popular answer put forward since the mid-19th century to solve all society problems. However, there is a significant problem with this solution.
Socialism, and by socialism I mean socialists or people who express such views in one degree or another, assumes the government is a monolithic structure able to do good since individuals cannot be trusted to do good (Ro 3:10-18). By definition government is comprised of individuals and since individuals cannot be trusted to do good; ergo, neither can the government be trusted to do good. The fact that good is constantly redefined, dumbed down, in hopes of proving that government can do good should alert the casual observer to the fallacy of expecting good from any government; especially since every government is of Lucifer {Christ never disputed Satan’s authority to give Him the kingdoms} (Mt 4:8-10).
The other problem with expecting the government to give out money to solve people’s problems is the fact that government has no money! Government is not a business; therefore, it produces nothing in order to accumulate wealth. Printing fiat paper currency is not money; i.e., it is not wealth. The paper currency simply represents what the government deems is its wealth. This used to be gold or silver though bronze and some other tangible sources were used in the ancient world. Today’s modern nations have renounced all so-called precious metals and via their central banks have based their currency on, are you ready, debt. Yes, your money is based on debt which is a hidden tax usually describe as inflation.
So, since the government does not produce wealth and its currency is based on debt, the opposite of wealth, one should ask, “Where does government get wealth in order to finance its various programs? The only answer is the government must obtain wealth from those who create wealth; i.e., businesses and those who work. Thus, governments forcibly collect taxes from wealth producers which decreases the wealth production of businesses and workers, laborers.
Hence, government taxes are an inhibitory feedback loop on wealth producers. The more government taxes the less wealth that exists to plow back into the wealth production cycle to keep producing wealth. The more socialism takes from the wealth producers to solve income issues the more socialism creates the very conditions it claims to solve! So, what mechanism exists that can reduce societies reliance on slave and child labor? The answer is an anathema to socialists making them nearly apoplectic! Free enterprise, the very opposite of socialism.
Studies of Income Increases Over Time
Parallel the Growth of Free Enterprise
Free enterprise reached its apogee when augmented by the Industrial Revolution. As men’s minds were unchained from ancient paganism and medieval scholasticism an unprecedented period of discovery sprang into existence which reached its zenith in the 20th century. Free enterprise was the observation that seemingly random agreements between sellers and buyers balanced the production and spread of wealth throughout societies that allowed such a marriage to exist. As the above graph shows, the increase in wealth of individuals was dramatic except for socialist China. China finally smelled reality and allowed a type of free market capitalism to exist along with her socialist dictatorship. In this manner China mimic the West to some degree as all Western governments today are some form of socialism, nation or international, that allows free markets to exist in a larger degree than is usual under socialist governments. Socialists work feverishly to discredit both the Industrial Revolution, environmentalism, and free markets, income inequality, in order to foster the myth that governments are the only true saviors of people.
Why did slavery pass out of existence? The industrial Revolution made slave labor expensive and thus impractical in a modern industrialized society. These myriad developments brought about by individuals rather than governments rang the death knell of slavery. In fact, it was governments that were reluctant to recognize and prohibit slavery. Why? Because powerful individuals and businesses linked to government were inefficient and unable to compete without access to slave labor. Thus, government was actually promoting slavery at the very time events proved it unnecessary and actually impractical!
Child labor followed the same course. As industrial processes became more complex there was a need for workers who had the educational skills to read and write and thus learn these new processes. And, since these processes were constantly being improved those who had the education and skills could command and receive higher wages. Thus, uneducated children were actually being forced out of the market. Families who relied on child labor for essential income were forced to work longer and harder to make up the income difference and to seek to improve their educational skills. It was this change in society mirrored in Charles Dickens works, especially the Christmas Carol. As people received educational skills and adjusted to the Industrial Revolution the differences between those who did not make the adjustment and those who did make the adjustment narrowed. Thus, children were sent to schools and the modern family was born which demanded that mothers stay at home and tend the children when they returned from schools while fathers faced the rigors of the workplace to provide for the family. Where was government? Behind the curve, as usual. Governments did not outlaw child labor until it had become impractical; that is, until it was no longer a popular and feasible option for its backers who were too inefficient to compete.
Therefore, free markets favor those businesses and individuals who are efficient and sharp enough to see the new trends and prepare themselves for new products and processes. This secures wealth for them and their families. Those who are inefficient and remain married to outdated products and processes seek the protection of government. This is the province of socialism. It is not about helping the poor since its processes actually rob from those who produce wealth and thus increase societal poverty. Socialism, and thus socialists, are about helping themselves at the expense of the wealth producers even to the point of using government force to extract the inhibitory taxes needed to fund their decrepit, failed programs. These programs attract the inefficient and ignorant so that they will not change. Thus, they become the new vote slaves of modern societies. These poor unfortunate citizens are kept for one reason, their votes that keep their new masters in power with their consent. And the children of these new slaves are the most tragic victims of all as their lives are largely wasted in prisons or on the streets chasing dreams of drugs and death. This is the true tragedy and product of socialism today. And socialism, and thus socialists, solution to this tragedy; kill the future via abortions described as the new self care for modern mothers.