Relaxing the anti-slavery laws would be both morally-sound and economically beneficial

Slavery has received a lot of negative press over the years and the adverse public opinion that it generated has led to the trading and keeping of slaves being banned in most developed countries. However, it's now time we asked ourselves if slavery really is such an immoral practice and, furthermore, consider what possible economic benefits the relaxation of anti-slavery laws could bring. MORALITY. In the 17th Century the British led the way in giving the natives of West Africa the opportunity to escape the devastating famines, the incurable tropical diseases, the religious human sacrifices, the lack of sanitation, the scarcity of fresh water, the widespread tribal warfare and the ever-present danger of wild animals to start productive new lives, either in on one of Britain's paradise islands in the Caribbean or in one of her picturesque rural colonies in North America. Once there, in return for an honest day's work, these former savages were provided with food and shelter as well as medical attention and religious instruction. Overall, life was good compared to their miserable existence in Africa, and they enjoyed much better health too - indeed, a child born to a slave in the Americas had a life expectancy 12 years longer than that of a child born to a working class family in Britain [1]. Slaves weren't paid, that is true, but as primitive hunter-gatherers they had no concept of currency so they would never have expected any monetary payment, or have known what to do with it if they had. Some extreme left-wing, ultra-politically-correct historians have implied that the African slave trade was, in some respects, perhaps slightly racist but this assertion is wholly unfounded. The fact is that North America and the Caribbean were such attractive destinations that millions of white Europeans sold themselves into slavery to become indentured servants in the New World. Indeed, 80% of all the European emigrants who arrived in America prior to the American Revolutionary War came as indentured servants and, furthermore, before slave laws were passed black slaves were treated the same way as indentured servants, and blacks were given the same opportunities for freedom as whites [2]. From a religious perspective, people in Europe and North America have traditionally used the Bible as their moral compass and the Christian scriptures make numerous references to slavery which explicitly support the practice and gives instruction on how slaves should behave and how their masters should treat them. For example: "As for your male and female slaves whom you may have: you may buy male and female slaves from among the nations that are around you. You may also buy from among the strangers who sojourn with you and their clans that are with you, who have been born in your land, and they may be your property. You may bequeath them to your sons after you to inherit as a possession forever." Leviticus 25:44-46 "Slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ." Ephesians 6:5 "When a man strikes his slave, male or female, with a rod and the slave dies under his hand, he shall be avenged. But if the slave survives a day or two, he is not to be avenged, for the slave is his money." Exodus 21:20-21 "Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust." Peter 2:18 "Slaves are to be submissive to their own masters in everything; they are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, not pilfering, but showing all good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour." Titus 2:9-10 "And that servant who knew his master's will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating." Luke 12:47 So we can see that slavery was morally-sound in both historic and religious contexts. ECONOMIC BENEFITS Times have changed and it is no longer legal under international law to import slaves from Africa but there is no need to. Most European and North American nations are awash with illegal immigrants that could be rounded up and sold as slaves. In addition, millions of long-term unemployed people in Europe and North America rely on government handouts for their food, shelter, health-care needs and other living expenses. It is only fair to the taxpayer that these people are deemed to be the property of the state for a period of time equivalent to that which they have been in receipt of state benefits. So, for example, if someone has been unemployed for five years, they should be leased out to the highest bidder for five years, after which time they would have earned their freedom. This would produce huge economic benefits to the country: in addition to the vast amount of money saved on welfare payments the receipts from the sale and lease of millions of slaves would be a huge boost for the economy. These savings and extra revenues would enable the government to wipe out any budget deficit and also cut taxes for businesses and hard-working individuals. As well as ordinary citizens engaging the services of slaves to assist with domestic duties around the home, firms would be able to use slaves to compete more effectively in the international marketplace. According to the International Labour Organisation at least 11.7 million are in forced labour in the Asia-Pacific region while paid workers receive a fraction of the pay of their counterparts in the West. [3} Slaves employed by European and American firms would help them sell their goods at similar prices to the cheap imports from China, India and other low wage economies. In conclusion, relaxing the anti-slavery laws would be both morally-sound and economically beneficial. Thank you. {1} http://www.open.edu... [2] http://www.landofthebrave.info... [3] http://www.antislavery.org...