Chapter La schiavitù dei contemporanei

Abstract

Slave labor survived the abolition of slavery. Karl Marx analyzed both the role of legal slavery in the original accumulation of the capital and the forms of forced labor inherent to the “free” labor relationships (wage slavery). In the XX century some critics of the prominent social role of labor shown a form of nostalgia for ancient slavery which set free citizens from necessity. Globalized capitalism exploits slaves, even if formally free like in the early modernity, whereas extreme subordination is widespread in developed economies and in sectors employing advanced technologies.