Slavery is continued war, and any compact converting it into limited rule ends it
Evidence
This is the perfect condition of slavery, which is nothing else, but the state of war continued, between a lawful conqueror and a captive: for, if once compact enter between them, and make an agreement for a limited power on the one side, and obedience on the other, the state of war and slavery ceases, as long as the compact endures: for, as has been said, no man can, by agreement, pass over to another that which he hath not in himself, a power over his own life. — , Second Treatise of Government, 37
Categorization
- DEFINE: Locke defines ‘perfect’ slavery precisely: a state of war sustained between conqueror and captive, not a contract.
- SEED: Essay angle: the counterintuitive claim that any contract between master and slave automatically dissolves slavery, and what that implies for early modern labor law.
- XREF: connects to: Slavery is a continuing state of war, not a legitimate compact — John Locke, Second Treatise of Government, 32; Ending slavery merely shifted racial control from slave law to criminal law — Nikole Hannah-Jones et al., The 1619 Project: A New American Origin…, 847; Banning the international slave trade redirected rather than ended the brutality of slavery — Ibram X. Kendi, Stamped from the Beginning: The…, 360 (+2 more)
Broader Connections
- Slavery is a continuing state of war, not a legitimate compact
#corroborates(1.00) — John Locke, Second Treatise of Government, 32 - Slavery’s abolition created a void filled by coercive systems replacing it.
#corroborates(1.00) - Ending slavery merely shifted racial control from slave law to criminal law
#expands(0.90) — Nikole Hannah-Jones et al., The 1619 Project, 847 - Banning the international slave trade redirected rather than ended the brutality of slavery
#expands(0.90) — Ibram X. Kendi, Stamped from the Beginning, 360 - Post-emancipation states suppressed slavery only to enforce other forms of compulsory labor
#expands(0.90) — Alice L. Conklin, A Mission to Civilize_ The Republican…, 749