The Poverty of Slavery

"This book is a vigorous rejoinder to the oft-repeated historical claim that immense profits derived from slavery powered the development of today's all-consuming system of globalized capitalism. When arguing persuasively for the contrary view, that slavery produced impoverishment, not affluence, Robert Wright marshals arguments based on a truly encyclopedic familiarity with slavery systems the world over, in the past as well as in the present. The debate that this book should initiate is very much welcome and timely in the extreme." (James Brewer Stewart, Founder, Historians Against Slavery)

This ground-breaking book adds an economic angle to a traditionally moral argument, demonstrating that slavery has never promoted economic growth or development, neither today nor in the past.This ground-breaking book adds an economic angle to a traditionally moral argument, demonstrating that slavery has never promoted economic growth or development, neither today nor in the past. While unfree labor may be lucrative for slaveholders, its negative effects on a country’s economy, much like pollution, drag down all members of society. Tracing the history of slavery around the world, from prehistory through the US Antebellum South to the present day, Wright illustrates how slaveholders burden communities and governments with the task of maintaining the system while preventing productive individuals from participating in the economy.
Historians, economists, policymakers, and anti-slavery activists need no longer apologize for opposing the dubious benefits of unfree labor. Wright provides a valuable resource for exposing the hidden price tag of slaving to help them pitch antislavery policies as matters of both human rights and economic well-being.