this is obviously an attempt to goad ngate into returning…right?
Id say “less” controversial.
Is making people in prisons perform the necessary custodial work to maintain it slavery? I dont think it is, but strictly speaking its enforced unwilling labor so by a dictionary definition it kinda is.
Now making them take jobs performing work for companies seeking to make a profit for less than minimum wage… yeah that smells a lot more like slavery.
What is and isn’t slavery is absolutely up for debate. You can have an argument over where you draw the line, but I’m pretty sure anyone remotely sane and moral would absolutely say that for-prisoner labour is slavery.
Which is probably why some countries specifically allow slavery for prisoners.
No, the concern with slavery is the lack of agency for oneself at the behest of another. A slave has no say in how their body is used and it’s a violation of the human rights to be your own person. Whether or not they are guilty of a crime is irrelevant.
Punishment for a crime does not mean permitting abuse. It means rehabilitation or isolation from others. They can still be their own person and aren’t forced into labor, but are not allowed to be a part of society again.
Slavery violates bodily autonomy, which is basically the worst ethical failing imaginable, worse than killing.
Not sure that any time someone posts cringe on HN counts as a tech take. Maybe we can bring AI into this?
What about, enslaving prisoners is not controversial if an AI is giving the orders, since it’s not a person oppressing another person. I’ll take my 500M VC now please.
Least controversial libertarian. (At least they picked slavery and not … well you know).
