Palimpsest of slavery: measure of the human condition and of work

Abstract

The construction of the history of work has been indebted to the notion of human progress conceived in an upward direction and guided by the human aspiration for freedom. It responds to a combination of liberal ideology and Hegelian thought in its association with the moment of revolutions. It found in real slavery the reference with which to contrast itself, a rhetorical device that has remained in popular language to denounce forms of exploitation considered abusive. Unfree labor predominated in the past and was projected in the 19th century into “second slavery” as one of the pillars of nascent industrial capitalism. Although forms of labor coercion persisted, a sense of voluntariness was created, of consent measured by the perception of wages, compatible with the surrender of the person to the employer during the working day and the absence of alternatives for earning a living. This article offers a conceptual and methodological reflection on the aspects mentioned above.