Talk:Slavery

Implied past tense of slavery as a phenomenon

No doubt it's unintentional, but the language of this article seems to reinforce subtly the idea that slavery is primarily a phenomenon of the past, rather than something that is occurring in various forms even in the present, and even in many countries where it has been formally banned (including the USA). This could (should?) be mentioned even in the very introduction of the article, and might even create a little spark to encourage further reading.

So glad to see this article appearing. This is a serious topic, and deserves attention. Thanks for getting it going!

Richard J. Senghas 17:17, 1 June 2007 (CDT)

I think the past tense is appropriate. Richard Jensen 17:36, 1 June 2007 (CDT)

lede

"it flourishes only where land is cheap, labor is scarce " -- but in ancient Rome land was expensive and there was an extensive population of poor but free people. On the American West in the 19th c., land was very cheap, and labor very scarce, and there was little slavery. Perhaps the present statement is somewhat overgeneralizing. DavidGoodman 01:34, 2 October 2009 (UTC)