The Servile State · Chapter
I: Definitions explained
This chapter establishes a precise definition of the servile state, distinguishing it from free labor by the presence of legal compulsion enforced by the state.
What happens
This chapter establishes a precise definition of the servile state, distinguishing it from free labor by the presence of legal compulsion enforced by the state. It argues that a servile condition exists only in contrast to a free condition, and that the state is servile when a significant portion of labor is compelled by positive law. The chapter explores various nuances, including the role of contract, duration of service, and the possibility of a servile class defined by status rather than individual ownership.
Themes in this chapter
The Inevitable Tendency Toward the Servile State
The chapter defines the servile state and argues that modern industrial society is tending toward its reestablishment.
The Replacement of Contract by Status
The chapter contrasts free contract with legal status as the basis of servitude, emphasizing the shift from voluntary agreement to compulsory status.
Poverty as the Engine of Servitude
The chapter discusses how destitution can force individuals into contracts that effectively create servile conditions.
Characters to notice
- Unknown
The narrator defines the servile state and explores its economic and legal dimensions.
- Collectivism
Mentioned as a rhetorical metaphor for servile conditions, but distinguished from the precise definition.
- Europeans
Implied as the society in which the modern tendency toward reestablishment of slavery is examined.
Key passages
“Where there is compulsion applicable by positive law to men of a certain status, and such compulsion enforced in the last resort by the powers at the disposal of the state, there is the institution of slavery; and if that institution be sufficiently expanded the whole state may be said to repose upon a servile basis, and is a servile state.”
Slavery exists when the state uses law to force a specific group of people to work, and if this practice is widespread, the entire society becomes a servile state.
Core definition of the servile state.
“the free man can refuse his labour and use that refusal as an instrument wherewith to bargain; while the slave has no such instrument or power to bargain at all, but is dependent for his well-being upon the custom of society, backed by the regulation of such of its laws as may protect and guarantee the slave.”
A free person can withhold their labor to negotiate better terms, but a slave cannot bargain and relies on social customs and laws for protection.
Key distinction between freedom and servitude.
“the servile condition only exists by contrast with a free condition. The servile condition is present in society only when there is also present the free citizen for whose benefit the slave works under the compulsion of positive law.”
Servitude is defined by the existence of free citizens who benefit from the forced labor of slaves.
Emphasizes the relational nature of servitude.