[Thermosetty]

Chattel slavery not only fueled the industrial revolution but laid the foundation for our modern world.

Capital accumulation, investment of capital, private ownership of the means of production (people), high levels of wage (free) labor and efficient (non-paid) use of the factors of production (people) - are all mechanisms of capitalism that reach their maximum potential under the conditions of chattel slavery.

[thworp]

Yes, what a great point! This is why Mauritania had all of the world's richest men until 1981 when they outlawed slavery. If they hadn't done that Bezos and Musk would have nothing on the founders of Mauritanian SlaveTrade Corporation.

Similarly it's why southern plantation owners where by far the richest people in America until the civil war. Carnegie and Vanderbilt had nothing on them. Strange though that nobody knows their names, must be censored by the Neo-Confederacy.

[jldugger]

> Strange though that nobody knows their names, must be censored by the Neo-Confederacy.

Wikipedia has a small list for your perusal[1]. Several actually[2][3][4][5].

    [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_at_American_colleges_an d_universities#Columbia_University
    [2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_presidents_of_the_United_States_who_owned_slaves
    [3]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_vice_presidents_of_the_United_States_who_owned_slaves
    [4]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_members_of_the_United_States_Congress_who_owned_slaves
    [5]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:First_Families_of_Virginia

[JanneVee]

Chattel slavery still exists around the world, why aren't they the richer than the places where chattel slavery is outlawed? Where ever machines replaced human labor slavery has been outlawed and is richer than the places where labor is done manually and still allows slavery.

The whole point of industrialization was to replace human labor with machines and obviate the capitalist need to own slaves!

[Thermosetty]

> Chattel slavery still exists around the world, why aren't they the richer than the places where chattel slavery is outlawed?

Chattel slavery no longer exists. That involved perpetual, lineage based bondage and breeding.

The global economy has evolved so why would you expect countries using a 15th century approach to outperform modern economies? Also, smaller economies don't have the ability to shape global monetary policy in their favor nor have the weaponry to enforce it.

[JanneVee]

So we should be flat out denying the existence chattel slavery in some parts Africa and Asia still because it is not a part of the modern global economy?

The essence of what I feel is wrong about the modern discussion around exploitation of human beings is this: So we just need to accept the original sin that our modern lifestyle has the origin of the slavery of the past only, that the stuff that we buy now is not based on exploitation of labor today.

Our stuff is sometimes from sweatshops. Our gadgets contain materials like Cobalt from "artisanal" mines in Congo. But hey somebody is getting a wage for their labor so it is not slavery even if they get punished for not meeting "quotas"...