Ancient slave economy was a power relation, not an economic one
Evidence
The slave economy was not an economic relation in a strict sense, but much more of a social relation maintained through the exercise of power and control, which kept in check what one could call the process of production.The difference becomes clear when one realises that the essence of the economic principle lies in the fact that this principle itself is not contingent on social power, but rather creates social power from itself. In theruleoverslaves,societyhasprimacyovereconomy.Theslaveeconomy does not emerge from the apparatus of production; rather, it emerges when a group of people has acquired power. However, this immediate relation of power cannot be described as an economic relation in the sense of the theories of Engels. — Dirk Braunstein, Adorno’s Critique of Political Economy, 1154
Categorization
- DEFINE: Shows Adorno’s definitional boundary between economy (exchange-based) and social power relations (slave-holding).
- XREF: Connects to Adorno’s program of immanent critique and his ‘ultima philosophia’ vs ‘prima philosophia’ distinction mentioned later in this chapter. — connects to: Hegel’s Master-Slave dialectic is a literary motif, not a description of actual slavery — Christine Daigle, Jacob Golomb (eds.), Beauvoir and Sartre: The Riddle of…, 270; Slavery’s meaning was psychological subjugation beyond mere economic exploitation; Economic abstractions are historically determined, not universal or extra-historical