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The emergence of legal slavery

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connoisseurs

Senator
I am sadly neither a author nor a artist, but I have a vivid imagination and too much time. So I thought about the chance that legal slavery could resurrect.
Starting point could be a lawsuit involving a BDSM case. I have only superficial knowledge about the life in the USA, but to me it seems possible, that such a lawsuit is most imaginable in California.
If a female - preferably lesbian - slave would sue for her right to be a slave, it could get support from liberal thinking people and the LBGT community.
If in such a situation a influential preacher recognizes legal slavery as the fastest way to get back the divinely ordained structur of families, the foundation for a starting point of voluntary legal slavery may be possible.
I would love that situation to be a challenge for our authors to show how this system developes (of course using beautiful women (ok - and men, if required)).
We have a few threads that could fit into such a scenario, like windars serial of Trabbian justice (at least http://www.cruxforums.com/xf/threads/trabbian-justice-comes-to-america.5484/)
or
from Theseus.
Even without a story, this thread could be a point to discuss life in such a culture.
 
Slavery declined largely because of industrialization, particularly in agriculture. A modern combine can do the work of hundreds of slaves. The same is true in industry. General Motors makes more cars than they made in the 1960s with about 25% of the number of workers. So we have substituted energy from fossil fuels and other sources for human labor.

Now imagine if we revert to pre-industrial societies where physical labor is dominant again. Would slavery return? Very possibly, though perhaps based on economic status, rather than race. Barb and I wrote about just such a society in "Plantation Plight" http://www.cruxforums.com/xf/threads/plantation-plight-by-barbaria-and-windar.5647/

So the climate change deniers here are standing in the way of slavery;). What's the matter with you guys?:confused:
 
I am sadly neither a author nor a artist, but I have a vivid imagination and too much time. So I thought about the chance that legal slavery could resurrect.
Starting point could be a lawsuit involving a BDSM case. I have only superficial knowledge about the life in the USA, but to me it seems possible, that such a lawsuit is most imaginable in California.
If a female - preferably lesbian - slave would sue for her right to be a slave, it could get support from liberal thinking people and the LBGT community.
If in such a situation a influential preacher recognizes legal slavery as the fastest way to get back the divinely ordained structur of families, the foundation for a starting point of voluntary legal slavery may be possible.
I would love that situation to be a challenge for our authors to show how this system developes (of course using beautiful women (ok - and men, if required)).
We have a few threads that could fit into such a scenario, like windars serial of Trabbian justice (at least http://www.cruxforums.com/xf/threads/trabbian-justice-comes-to-america.5484/)
or
from Theseus.
Even without a story, this thread could be a point to discuss life in such a culture.
As a sub missive lesbian, I find this concept interesting. I would enjoy hearing comments and might even join in.
 
Maybe as some starting points for a discussion or a story:

- Government needs a way to distinguish rapists and domestic abuser from slave owners. So there has to be a form of registration. That in itself could be a interesting/exciting/humilating procedure. How to you prove that you have a slave? ID card? Tattooing?
- BDSM relationships are as diversely as any other. Is it possible to register a slave with a valid contract that describes content and boundaries of each slave or is it to much effort? If so, could there be only two different kinds of BDSM relationships? One with a submissive, with precise boundaries and the other with a slave, with only marginal boundaries? What could such boundaries be like? Liability of a owner for nourishment, physical health? Maybe even some kind of retirement account?
- How much would the Government intervene in such relationships? For example with mandatory annual medical inspection (a new job for Dr. Taylor?)?
- Would there be contracts for a limited periode of time?
- Will it be possible to create closed-gated communities for an open lifestyle clientel?
- What about if a slave owner dies? Will the slave be part of the inheritance?

I hope they I could at least procure some stimuli for your phantasy :)
 
Slavery declined largely because of industrialization, particularly in agriculture. A modern combine can do the work of hundreds of slaves. The same is true in industry. General Motors makes more cars than they made in the 1960s with about 25% of the number of workers. So we have substituted energy from fossil fuels and other sources for human labor.
and slave-owners had to take some care of their slaves, at least if they wanted to keep them alive and fit to work -
'free' workers have to fight for their jobs on the labour market, and be hired and fired as it suits the bosses.

I am sadly neither a author nor a artist, but I have a vivid imagination and too much time. So I thought about the chance that legal slavery could resurrect.
Starting point could be a lawsuit involving a BDSM case. I have only superficial knowledge about the life in the USA, but to me it seems possible, that such a lawsuit is most imaginable in California.
If a female - preferably lesbian - slave would sue for her right to be a slave, it could get support from liberal thinking people and the LBGT community.
If in such a situation a influential preacher recognizes legal slavery as the fastest way to get back the divinely ordained structur of families, the foundation for a starting point of voluntary legal slavery may be possible.
I would love that situation to be a challenge for our authors to show how this system developes (of course using beautiful women (ok - and men, if required)).

Even without a story, this thread could be a point to discuss life in such a culture.
Actually, I believe such things may already go on - in CA, needless to say -
situations where consenting adults sign contracts agreeing to be kept and treated as slaves.
 
and slave-owners had to take some care of their slaves, at least if they wanted to keep them alive and fit to work -
'free' workers have to fight for their jobs on the labour market, and be hired and fired as it suits the bosses.
Thank you, Eulalia Ocasio-Cortez. For those who don't know her, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a freshman Congresswoman from the Bronx-OF COURSE-who is celebrated/hated for her "radical" positions like supporting universal health care and other Communist ideas!
Actually, I believe such things may already go on - in CA, needless to say -
situations where consenting adults sign contracts agreeing to be kept and treated as slaves.
Of course, any such contract is unenforceable, as it violates state and federal law and the Constitution. Just like you can't sue over a drug deal gone bad, which is why those usually result in bloodshed...
 
Interesting idea.

We need to distinguish between slavery, bonded labour and serfdom, and drop the link that has formed in recent centuries between slavery and skin colour. Slavery is thousands of years old, and has many forms. the "other" has always been a source of slaves, but that may just mean the people in the next valley, or over the river. It can have ethnic, economic, or social roots.
Serfdom is not the same, as serfs are bound to the land, and generally can't be bought or sold as such.
Bonded labourers are slaves on a contract, so not quite chattels but not free either.

So, what is the basis for this idea?
It sounds social, a response to sexual desires and dominance relationships.
 
One thing that comes to mind is the 13th amendment, which states prisoners can be used for forced labor, and which many activist groups are calling the justification of modern slavery. So you can have auctions at the women’s prison for their services that will bring revenue to the prisons.

in terms of consensual slavery, in terms of BDSM contracts and all that stuff, you are pretty much allowed to have that, but the police won’t help you find them if the slave runs away.

Back in 2008 I went to a libertarian meeting and they talked about how much money they would need to buy up land and territory that’s not being used, say in Nebraska or Wyoming, and can set up a commonwealth that is still a part of the US but does not need to abide by the same laws as other states. Those laws probably don’t include legalizing slavery, but it’s fiction, and if it sounds realistic then it can be allowed.
So let’s say a group of people buy up land and have people who willingly go into slavery, who will work the land and obey the masters. They are citizens of this land, and need the right papers to get out. This also means that young women/other people, driven crazy by city life, could run away to this settlement and give their lives over to the government, who will put them on the auction block. There’s still trade to be had between the settlement and the rest of the country, but it’s under separate laws.

PS
There’s also North Korea, where anything goes. The great leaders needs a propaganda movie where a beautiful North Korean girl is raped and crucified by South Koreans and Americans, (Koreans in White face) and the great leader is the director, and he’s a method director.
 
There are, of course, modern types of slavery. Some are just plain nasty, such as forced prostitution. Others are voluntary, and consensual.

In my fantasy world there are places like The Farm, places where people can go voluntarily to become slaves. This could be permanent or for a fixed term, with or without limits. At these places the slaves would be freed from the bonds of society, freed from the restrictions that society places upon us. They would be free to submit, and obey, without blame and without guilt.

There are, of course, people who practice this in real life. Who find that this lifestyle suits them. Whether it would ever be publicly sanctioned and acknowledged is moot.

The question for those with knowledge of the Law is this? Is voluntary slavery, for instance pithing a D/s relationship, legal?
 
hmm... when i think of modern settings with slavery, they're generally of the sort where it was never abolished, at least in certain countries. As for re-introducing it, I honestly can't see it as coming out of BDSM - at most you'd get looser rules about what can be consented to.

I have had a few somewhat inappropriate thoughts on the matter when considering the refugee crisis here in Europe. There has been considerable argument about how legitimate their flight from danger is, as well as whether any particular state should have to bear the burden of receving them. the general public might be a lot more open to the idea if they could get their own slaves out of it, and the loss of almost all rights should filter out those not fleeing for their lives... it's a terrible idea, but one that can be made to sound good at least. And once the door is open and slavery exists, there's always room to add more avenues of entry.
 
The question for those with knowledge of the Law is this? Is voluntary slavery, for instance pithing a D/s relationship, legal?

i don't know the law in detail, but there are things you can't consent to (like murder) or give irrevocable consent too (like rape). So a slave will still technically have rights and power - it's down to a mix of them refrainig from using it and the master convincing them not to.
 
he question for those with knowledge of the Law is this? Is voluntary slavery, for instance pithing a D/s relationship, legal?
If you whip a slave, the authorities could charge you with assault regardless of whether the whippee (I just made that word up:D) consented. You could, of course cite that consent in your defense and it would be up to a jury to decide with the strong possibility that you would lose.

A few miles down the road from me (literally) was the headquarters of a group called NXIVM which was basically a BDSM group posing as a self-help group. They branded "consenting" women with the initials of the leader and his #2 (a well-known TV actress). The principals have all been convicted in federal court and are facing long stints in prison. That tells you what a jury is likely to do. Best to keep all this in the realm of fantasy.

I suspect the reality would fall short of the fantasy any way as generally happens in real life. But if you'd like a nice story (strictly fantasy) I have one running now http://www.cruxforums.com/xf/threads/spring-break-slaves.7852/
Back in 2008 I went to a libertarian meeting and they talked about how much money they would need to buy up land and territory that’s not being used, say in Nebraska or Wyoming, and can set up a commonwealth that is still a part of the US but does not need to abide by the same laws as other states.
Not sure how owning land exempts you from laws. To form a new state requires the agreement of the existing state and Congress, which is about as likely as....
 
hmm... when i think of modern settings with slavery, they're generally of the sort where it was never abolished, at least in certain countries. As for re-introducing it, I honestly can't see it as coming out of BDSM - at most you'd get looser rules about what can be consented to.

I have had a few somewhat inappropriate thoughts on the matter when considering the refugee crisis here in Europe. There has been considerable argument about how legitimate their flight from danger is, as well as whether any particular state should have to bear the burden of receving them. the general public might be a lot more open to the idea if they could get their own slaves out of it, and the loss of almost all rights should filter out those not fleeing for their lives... it's a terrible idea, but one that can be made to sound good at least. And once the door is open and slavery exists, there's always room to add more avenues of entry.
The idea behind the thread was legal consensual slavery to give participants legal certainty. But, like it has happend with a lot of well-intentioned ideas, it could develope in something bad and ugly.
 
Not sure how owning land exempts you from laws. To form a new state requires the agreement of the existing state and Congress, which is about as likely as....
In my mind, the thing I compared it to was how in Puerto Rico there are no laws about drinking in public, so you can drink on the beach. Obviously this is more extreme than that. But play along.
 
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