Servitude under a larger collectivity is milder than under individuals

Evidence

The highest aim of the Spartan and Thessalian slaves was to become slaves of the state rather than of individuals. Prior to the emancipation of the feudal peasants in Prussia, the peasants on the state domains had a far better lot than private peasants had. — Georg Simmel, The Sociology of Georg Simmel, 5782

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to Milgrom’s analysis of how institutional forms reshape the incentives and treatment of economic actors — here the state vs. private master ratio.