Master_Shake

Right, and if the blacks didn't work in the cotton fields they wouldn't get fed. That was slavery, and so is this.

Slavery exists not where there's simply an exchange of currency or property or work, I recognize that as the capitalist system and I don't object to it. Slavery exists when one side has all the power in the relationship and can dictate the terms to the other. Yes, I'm not being told I have to work in the cotton fields, but I am being told what to do, I'm being taxed while I work, and my work enriches other people to an extent far greater than it enriches me.

Damn, that's always the refuge of people defending the system, "If you don't like it, leave!" Please understand, I am not trying to wreck your system. I', not going to deny you your yacht. You may continue to exploit people here and abroad without worry from me. But don't expect me to like it.

Only in the most techinical sense. A better way to put it might be it makes you less of a slave (maybe, I'll get to that) but saying it makes you more free is disingenuous.

And that's only a maybe. You assume that the overseer you choose will be the one that will treat you better, whip you less, etc. The problem arises when the overseers and politicians lie to you anyway, then it's no better than flipping a coin. What you need to recognize is that although the overseers all have a different style, they are all the same person, with one goal in mind, to get you to work for them. Some may be more pleasent about it (others may say they're going to whip you less but actually be the cruelest) but they're all there to take from you.

Exactly wrong. Paying a fixed tax would be a better system, then you're only paying a fee for the services provided. Paying depending on how hard you work is just like slave labour. What the slaves worked for was given directly to the plantation owner, granted, in that case it was 100% of the slave's work, whereas here it's 33% or so.

Right, all the land has been claimed by rich people. They own it, because they say they do and because they have weapons which can kill me if I don't respect their property boundary. That they will continue to own it forever doesn't make it right, it just means they have a bigger leviathan than me. (and again, I have no desire to kill or be killed, so please don't take this the wrong way).

I understand I have to work to survive in nature, it can be cruel and unforgiving. But you telling me I have to work and support rich people in addition to myself is what makes me a slave.
And I consider this quite a bit, but then I drown my sorrows in alcohol and hookers and my pain is dulled.
Well, if you mean it matters less than genocide or something, sure, but it does matter to me, since I'm the one being exploited for other's pleasure.
I admit, I don't know what you do for a living, perhaps you're a porn star or something, but I think you have the flow chart upside down. Money and resources are how you purchase things, how you employ others, and how you make life easier for yourself. When you have a lot of money, you can do this a lot. When you have very little, you have to purchase the cheap vodka, or do these things to a lesser extent than the rich people do. Also, in this country (America) the system is designed so that the rich people stay rich without having to continue to work. When someone owns a factory, he doesn't even have to work in it to make money. He makes money because other people pay him to use his stuff, which is only his because he says it is.

Yeah, those are the children working in sweatshops in Thailand, or the illegal immigrants brought over to serve as prostitutes. I'm glad you're so happy at the idea of exploiting others.

When it's an equal exchange, bargained for consideration, both parties gain something and both parties lose something, then you're right, it isn't slavery. But when one has all the power in the relationship, and can dictate the terms, that is slavery.

? Rich people don't provide anything to society, they leech off of it. They claim ownership over everything, and because they employ the cops and the army they prevent you from doing anything with "their" property. Rich people exist to take your money, not to give you anything. That they throw some bones back your way to prevent revolution isn't because they like you or care about your well-being, it's because they have nothing but contempt for you. The slaveowners let the slaves get drunk on Christmas after all, it wasn't because they liked the slaves, it was because the one night of partying blew off some steam and prevented revolution, and because the resulting hangover showed the slave he was a worthless creature who needed to be controlled.

Enjoy your yacht.

__________________
-------------
You know something, I don't think the sun even... exists... in this place. 'Cause I've been up for hours, and hours, and hours, and the night never ends here.