Slavery

Before the industrial revolution the most effective unit of work was the human body, and thus was born slavery.

After the industrial revolution had wrought its magic, we humans of the West became more valuable as units of consumption, rather than as units of work.

In this process we have transitioned away from slavery of the body towards slavery of the mind.

Such slavery of the mind is required to keep our desire to consume ahead of our ability to do so.

And the genius of it is that hardly anybody has noticed.

If you actually let them eat cake, they won’t think to revolt.

And even better still, most of us are both slaves and slave-masters; we are our own enemy.

The only way out is to be neither and to lay very, very low.