The Brothel or the Burqah

One of the surprises of the 21st century is the revival of slavery around the world. From the Chinese laogai to the brothels of Berlin, from Darfur to Darby, humans are being bought and sold as property. In fact, it is estimated that 27 million individuals are currently enslaved, nearly double the number that were owned as slaves throughout the entire history of American slavery.

This revival of slavery is more than a little ironic, especially in the West, considering it comes at a time when the equalitarian dogma of sexual sameness is taken for granted and millionaire descendants of African slaves demand reparations for acts committed over 14 decades ago, while ignoring Africans enslaved today.

In examining this issue, it is important to understand that slavery has been, throughout most of human history, an accepted institution. Every culture and every religion has embraced it, from the civilized Egyptians, Greeks and Romans to the barbarian Celts, Mongols and Zulus. Slaves have been owned by Christians, by Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and atheists alike.

There are only two cultures of which I am aware that have banned slavery without external pressure. One is Japan during the Momoyama Period of the 1580s, the other is early nineteenth-century Britain. But while the Japanese ban was inspired by one man's dictate and did not long survive his successor, the British ban was inspired by Protestant Christianity and was spread by the daunting influence of Imperial British arms, everywhere from Europe to Asia, Africa and America.

Vox Day