Scott Santens: Wage Slavery Force
on Sunday, March 28, 2021Scott Santens Money Quote saying we thought we had gotten rid of slavery as an institution, but we simply evolved it to become wage slavery. Scott Santens said:
“We didn’t abolish slavery as an institution. We simply went from one form of slavery (chattel slavery), to another form of slavery (wage slavery). Instead of forcing people to work for nothing, we instead let people work for money needed to live, without which they risk death for not obtaining” — Scott Santens
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Scott Santens is drawing a comparison between chattel slavery and wage labor. He argues that while chattel slavery as an institution was abolished, it was replaced by another form of “slavery” – wage slavery.
Just as chattel slaves were forced to work to avoid death, wage workers must work for money in order to afford basic necessities of life like food and shelter. Without a wage, one risks death from lack of resources.
So while wage workers are not literally owned as property, Santens views wage labor as a type of economic coercion or dependency that functions similarly to slavery. He believes workers have little meaningful choice or freedom outside of participating in the wage system.
Overall, Santens is making the point that abolishing one form of slavery did not eliminate all forms of compelled labor and dependency within the economic system.