:34:00
Suppose involuntarily imported labor
had never been outlawed.
:34:04
That slaves still existed,
and that it were easy to own one.
:34:08
What do you think it would cost today
to profitably maintain a slave,
:34:12
say, here in Tampere?
:34:13
Let's see...a finished clothing set
costs $50 at the very least.
:34:19
Two meals from McDonald's
cost about $10.00.
:34:22
The cheapest small room
probably runs for about $250 a month.
:34:26
To function well, you have to pay
for your slave's health care.
:34:29
If its country of origin was polluted,
for example, that might run expensively.
:34:33
And, of course, what with
child labor laws here in Finland,
:34:36
much of the youth market
is simply not available.
:34:40
Now leave the same slave
back at home. Let's say Gabon.
:34:44
In Gabon, $10 pays
for two weeks of food.
:34:47
$250 pays for two years
of housing, not a month, at best.
:34:52
$50 pays for a lifetime
of budget clothing.
:34:56
And health care is,
of course, cheaper.
:34:58
On top of it all...youth can be
gainfully employed without restriction.
:35:03
The biggest benefit
of the remote labor system, though,
:35:05
is to the slave him or herself,
:35:07
because in Gabon there is no need
for the slave not to be free.
:35:11
This is primarily because
:35:13
there are no one-time
slave transport costs to recoup
:35:16
and so the potential losses
from fleeing
:35:18
are limited to the slave's
rudimentary training.
:35:21
Since the slave can be free,
:35:23
he or she suddenly becomes
a worker rather than a slave.
:35:26
Also terrific for morale
is that slaves-workers...
:35:30
have the luxury of remaining
in their native habitat
:35:32
and don't have to relocate to places
where they would be subject
:35:35
to such unpleasantries
as homesickness and racism.
:35:39
I think it's clear
from our little thought experiment
:35:42
that if the North and South
had simply let the market sort it out
:35:46
without protectionist tariffs,
:35:47
they would've quickly given up slavery
for something more efficient anyhow.
:35:51
By forcing the issue,
:35:53
the North not only committed a terrible
injustice against the freedom of the South,
:35:57
but also deprived slavery
:35:59
of its natural development
into remote labor.