01.04 Philosophy: Consensual slavery

The ownership and control of people by other people has existed for thousands of years and began with the foundation of civilization, marked by the move from hunting to farming. Hunters and gatherers had no advantage to control other people. Each person had their role and they got on with it. After the growth of towns and cities, and the necessary move to farming to facilitate this advance, food was produced in surplus, and how this was produced, stored, and distributed had to be controlled. And so, it became inevitable, at the time, for the more powerful members of society to use and control the skills or simply sheer muscle power of those in need. Slavery began to emerge and develop alongside the birth of civilization.

At this early time, control was probably nothing more than the assignment of jobs to ensure that towns and cities could function effectively, and the later emergent hierarchical nature of slavery and the detachment of empathy for a fellow human was only superficially evident. However, in the many thousands of intervening years between then and now, slavery and the control of people by other people changed dramatically. During its peak periods, slavery was harsh, brutal, cruel, and uncompromising. Slaves became property, often worthless, and above all became tools for owners to use to further their financial gain or glory.

Over the last few hundred years, a more enlightened perspective of the world began to be considered and explored, and with the move from a localized society towards a new global consciousness came to a greater awareness of the human condition. Change arrived painstakingly slowly as new systems were trialed and instigated, until, eventually, after many debates and with much reluctance by those disadvantaged, slavery, over much of the world, became illegal. Capitalism and similar social constructs provided the mechanisms for change to happen and some would argue that these, in a less harsh way, are still a means of control and ownership of the state over the populace, but that’s another debate. What matters here is slavery itself.

After its demise and illegality, vestiges of slavery persist and excite and have led some to explore some of the associated interpersonal interactions. Features such as hierarchy, control, discipline, torture, and ownership are explored by people consensually all over the world, in varying degrees. And it is the consensual element that is most important.

Non-consensual slavery is illegal and because of the extreme treatments experienced by slaves placed and forced into that sort of slavery, it should remain so. Consensual slavery, though, is a legitimate lifestyle choice, made by many people. For slavery to exist and function healthily there does need to be an element of consent to give that slavery impetus. It needs to flourish out of choice, not coercion.

What that choice and consent actually mean in real terms depends from slave to slave, and Master to Master. At one extreme, a slave may consent to be ‘sold’ into slavery and is resigned to follow whatever path this exchange involves; there is no choice of who the Master is, how the slave will be treated, what sort of limits there would be, or any negotiation. At the other extreme, a slave may consent to a thoroughly negotiated set-up. And in between, there are infinite possibilities. The important factor that must be present for modern-day slavery or consensual slavery to exist and function properly is consent. Once the consent is there, however it is procured, then the slavery can begin to be developed by the Master and the relationship or experience can begin to progress.