Latest Research showed that worldwide more than 45 million people, including children, are used as slaves. This was reported by the Walk Free Foundation. /website/

The Walk Free Foundation conducted a study, based on the results of which it compiled a ranking of countries with the largest number slaves It turned out that the number of slaves in modern world can be compared to the population of a large country such as Spain or Argentina. The analysis showed that data from previous studies were significantly underestimated.

The study found that 58% of all slaves originated from India, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Uzbekistan. Countries with the largest numbers of slaves include North Korea, Uzbekistan, Cambodia, India and Qatar.

As noted by the international organization, there is evidence of the use slave labor through the system of forced labor camps. This kind of slave labor network is widespread in China. In Uzbekistan, residents are forced to pick cotton.

According to human rights organizations, the underground slave trade is the third most profitable criminal business in the world after the arms and drug trade. “It’s entirely possible that slave labor was used to make your shoes or the sugar you put in your coffee. "Slaves laid the bricks that make up the wall of the factory that made your television," writes sociologist Kevin Bales, author of The New Slavery in the Global Economy.

How do you get into slavery?

Most often, those who fall into slavery are those who were kidnapped or migrated illegally. According to the UN, 11 countries have “very high” levels of kidnapping activity. More than 50 thousand people are kidnapped there every year. These countries include Zimbabwe, Congo, New Guinea, Sudan, China, Lithuania, Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.

Some are lured into slavery by deception. Usually the scheme is always the same: first the employee is promised high salary in another city or country, after arrival, his documents are taken away and he is forced to work. Girls are often promised a career in the modeling business, but in fact are forced into prostitution or best case scenario work in underground garment factories.

Men are most often forced to do hard physical labor. The most famous example are Brazilian charcoal burners. They are recruited from local beggars, promising well-paid jobs. Then their passport is taken away, work book and taken to the deep forests of the Amazon, from where there is nowhere to escape. There, workers are forced to burn huge eucalyptus trees without rest to produce coal.

The number of charcoal burners is more than 10 thousand. Human rights organizations have not yet been able to cope with this problem. This is largely due to interest local authorities in a shadow business that brings huge profits.

The situation with slavery in Russia

According to the Walk Free Foundation rating, 1 million 48 thousand 500 people live in slavery in Russia today. Thus, Russia ranks 16th in the world in terms of the ratio of free citizens to slaves. In terms of the total number of slaves, our country ranks seventh in the world.

According to estimates from the State Department report, in Moscow and the Moscow region alone, at least 130 thousand people work for free. They are undocumented and live in terrible conditions. Many are forced into begging.

Begging in Moscow is a common occurrence. Photo: MAXIM MARMUR/AFP/Getty Images

Valid in Russia public organization An “alternative” that helps people in similar situations. Over the four years of its existence, activists have freed more than 300 people from different regions Russia. According to the organization's employees, about 5 thousand people fall into labor slavery in Russia every year. There are about 100 thousand forced laborers in the country.

Activists of the organization note that mostly victims of slave traders are people from the provinces who want to improve their living conditions and do not understand labor relations. Recruiters are already waiting for such people at Moscow train stations. They offer visitors Good work on South. After this, they take the victim to a station cafe, where agreements are made with the waiters. There they add sleeping pills to their tea, after which they are taken in the right direction.

Most often, workers are taken to the Teply Stan metro station, and from there by bus to Dagestan. In Dagestan, illegal workers work in brick and other factories. When there are major checks in the region, the slaves are simply thrown over the fence. “Alternative” volunteers note that slave owners do not have a serious “protection”; everything happens at the level of local police officers and junior officers. Therefore, plant owners often do not interfere with the release of people.

At the same time, the Dagestan prosecutor’s office did not establish any facts of forced labor of workers at brick production enterprises. “The prosecutor’s investigation did not establish any facts of forced labor in any form,” the department reports.

A member of the “Alternative” movement, Oleg Melnikov, noted that the government of our country simply does not recognize slavery. “It seems to me that we in Russia simply do not have the political will to admit that slavery exists in our country. And some investigators directly told me that they would never initiate cases under the article “slavery.” And investigators ask to use the wording when initiating criminal cases “illegal detention of two or more persons,” and not “slavery,” the human rights activist noted.

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philosophical sciences

• Sakhanina Ekaterina Alexandrovna, bachelor, student
• Vladimirsky State University named after A.G. and N.G. Stoletovs

• CAPITALISM
• SLAVERY

This article examines the question of the existence of slavery in modern society, about its forms and methods of influencing humans. Its main idea is that no matter how we try to fight it, its existence is inevitable in a capitalist society.

• Specifics and author's methodology for assessing the effectiveness of electronic business communications
• Social and philosophical analysis of national identity

Currently, we are more likely to feel the impact of any social factors on our lives, making it unnecessarily difficult. Society neglects spiritual benefits and prefers something material, which, in their opinion, will bring much more benefit. So, some start working in a hated company, take out loans, becoming chronic debtors. Others spend considerable sums on boutique clothes, gadgets and nightclub parties. Therefore, such dependence of people can be equated to slavery. But the slave system appeared in ancient world.

Slavery existed in the world long before a state called “Ancient Rome” appeared. Here is what we read about the history of slavery in one of the encyclopedic dictionaries widely known abroad: “Slavery appeared with the development of agriculture approximately 10,000 years ago. People began to use captives in agricultural work and forced them to work for themselves. In early civilizations, captives long remained the main source of slavery. Another source was criminals or people who could not pay their debts. The growth of industry and trade contributed to an even more intensive spread of slavery. There was a demand for labor that could produce goods for export. And therefore slavery reached its peak in the Greek states and the Roman Empire. Slaves performed the main work here. Most of them worked in mines, handicrafts or agriculture. Others were used in the household as servants and sometimes as doctors or poets. In the ancient world, slavery was perceived as natural law life that has always existed. And only a few writers, and influential people They saw evil and injustice in him.”

In the modern world, slavery has not disappeared; it still exists, taking different forms: economic, social, spiritual and other types. In addition, some government agencies guard the forms modern slavery and define them as “good”.

In my opinion, the relevance of this topic lies in the fact that in the modern world a person feels less and less free in personal self-determination, due to the existing so-called “debt economy”, rigidly imposed ideological norms, cultural traditions and morality. Therefore, it is important to understand what depends on us in this situation and give it an adequate assessment.

Today, slavery has completely different characteristics. It went underground, that is, became illegal, or acquired forms that allow it to coexist with modern laws.

Slavery is a system of social relationships in which a person (slave) is allowed to be owned by another person (master, slave owner, owner) or the state. In addition to direct slavery, i.e. physical, there are also other forms of it: “economic”, “social”, “hired”, “capitalist”, “indirect”, “spiritual”, “debt”, etc.

For example, “social” slavery in the modern world divided society into classes of rich and poor. Since it is very difficult to get into the rich class, you can only be born into it, many people become hostages of their position, throwing all their strength into achieving the level of this class.

“Spiritual slavery” in the modern world is characterized by the fact that people often face depression and psychological disorders, which forces them to withdraw into themselves, that is, to become a slave to their consciousness.

But we will look at “economic slavery” in more detail. This is a person’s dependence on economic factors as forms of a slave system. The reasons for the development of economic slavery are the capitalist system. Modern capitalism and various shapes Slavery represents an increase in capital and an appropriation of the product that the worker has made.

No one doubts that today we live under capitalism (our authorities, however, do not like the word “capitalism”, replacing it with the completely meaningless phrase “ market economy") and therefore the modern economy rests on the fact that everyone does their job: someone manages, and someone does the dirty work - isn’t this an example of slave relations?

A modern person working under a contract of employment sometimes has no time to think about analogies and compare himself with a slave of Ancient Rome. Moreover, if you hint at such an analogy, he may be offended. Especially if a person holds some kind of leadership position, if he has a car, an apartment and other attributes of modern “civilization”. Of course, there are differences between the classic slave of Ancient Rome and the modern hired worker. For example, the first one received a bowl of food, and the second one received money to buy this bowl. The former cannot cease to be a slave, and the latter has the “privilege” of ceasing to be a slave: that is, to be dismissed.

Despite the fact that the work that people do is paid, and it would seem that they cease to depend on anyone, it is actually a myth, since most They spend the funds received for their work on various payments and taxes, which then go to the state budget.

We should not forget the fact that we live in a society of modern “civilization”, so every person wants to “live beautifully”, to meet all the standards of the modern “elite”, regardless of what their income is. But the remaining funds are sometimes not enough to meet these needs. Then the mechanism of the forced economy turns on and people begin to take out loans, plunging more and more into the debt hole.

Such a phenomenon as inflation is not uncommon and, it would seem, it is understandable, but rising prices in the absence of an increase in the worker’s salary ensures a hidden, unnoticeable robbery. All this forces the average person to kneel lower and lower, bowing before the modern bourgeoisie, making him a real slave.

Thus, we can conclude that no matter what times come, in the conditions of capitalist civilization there will always be a place for slavery. Society will never be completely free. A person will always be limited in his capabilities, there will always be someone who subordinates and someone who obeys. Be it problems in his mind or the politics of the state in which he lives, problems at work or in social life, in all these areas a person is subjected to hidden slavery.

Bibliography

1. Katasonov V.Yu. From slavery to slavery. From Ancient Rome to Modern Capitalism, Oxygen Publishing House, 2014. – 166 p. ISBN: 978-5-901635-40-7
2. Katasonov V.Yu. Capitalism. History and ideology of “monetary civilization” / Scientific editor O.A. Platonov. – M.: Institute of Russian Civilization, 2013. – 1072 pp. ISBN 978-5-4261-0054-1

UDC 316.34:326:342.721

LINKOVA O.M. The essence of modern slavery

The article is devoted to the study of the characteristics of modern slavery. The author shows how relevant the problem of slavery is in the conditions of the modern socio-political and socio-economic crisis, and also reveals the essence of modern slavery. The main forms of modern slavery are identified and described, namely: labor, debt, contract slavery, physical, military, conscription, penitentiary, religious, sexual. The article reveals the causes and diverse consequences of the emergence and spread of modern slavery.

Key words: slavery, human trafficking, labor exploitation, labor slavery, debt slavery, contract slavery, physical slavery, military slavery, conscription slavery, penal slavery, religious slavery, sexual slavery.

History does not know many social phenomena that are so multifaceted, contradictory and at the same time so stable as slavery.

When you talk about slavery as modern social phenomenon, the usual reaction of the interlocutor is surprise: after all, all this happened a long time ago, during the era of slavery. In other words, in our minds the words “slaves” and “slavery” are usually associated with slave-holding relations in the ancient world or those practiced in the 16th-19th centuries. the use of slaves exported from Africa on plantations in the New World. It is believed that slavery finally ceased to exist in late XIX century, when in 1888 the last slave-owning country, Brazil, granted freedom to its slaves. Some discovered facts of slavery and the slave trade were attributed either to criminal groups or associated with the socio-economic backwardness of some African and Asian countries. Indeed, in many of them slavery continued to officially exist until the 40-50s of the twentieth century. For example, in Nepal, where the government abolished slavery only under pressure from the world community, or in Mauritania, where slavery was abolished many times. The last time this happened was in 1980, when the

The government of this country has decided that slavery in the country has ended and no longer exists. The Slavery Convention was signed back in 1926, and in 1956 the Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery was concluded1.

It would seem that the problem of slavery has long lost its relevance. Today it is generally accepted that there is no slavery in the world. However, the claim that slavery is impossible in a modern liberal society is simply a myth. Many might argue with this. But if we are attentive to everything that surrounds us, we will see thriving slavery. For example, let's look at a new supermarket, on the construction site of which men from the former Soviet republics work day and night, we'll stop by any car wash where teenagers with haunted eyes serve us around the clock, in almost all newspapers we see advertisements for sexual services... List of examples can be very long. If we ask the question, who are these people who agree to work, and most importantly, who work in such conditions, then the answer will be the same - they are slaves. This is modern slavery, carefully hidden, sophisticated and therefore even more cruel and humiliating, not

rather than in ancient times, during the era of slavery, which we know about from school textbooks. Modern slaves are almost never written about in newspapers, state human rights organizations are silent about them, people in Europe and America, Australia and Russia know practically nothing about them. However, in the modern world, despite all the declarations of human rights, slavery exists, and on a much larger scale than in ancient times, and in uglier forms, since this phenomenon is not even officially recognized, and therefore modern slaves have no rights.

The scale and forms of modern slavery are quite wide and global. Exact amount modern slaves unknown in the world. Contemporary research offers a wide range of estimates of the nature and extent of modern slavery. In 2005, the UN came to the conclusion that about 700 thousand people fall into slavery every year; the US Department of State a year later named a similar figure - from 600 to 800 thousand people. The Human Rights Watch organization believes that the real number of people sold into slavery annually reaches 800-900 thousand. The Human Security Center (now based at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada) estimates that up to 4 million people are sold into slavery every year. International Organization In 2006, the Labor International Labor Organization published a report according to which 12.3 million people in the world are engaged in forced (that is, actually slave) labor. There are even more shocking estimates. Experts from the Anty-Slavery organization claim that there are up to 200 million slaves in the modern world2. However, most exact numbers cites the famous American sociologist Kevin Bales, a researcher on the problem of slavery. In his opinion, today there are up to 27 million people in the world who are slaves. Unpaid slave labor makes up a certain share of the modern global economy, and a significant share at that. According to international estimates

According to local human rights organizations, the annual income brought by slaves to their owners ranges from 13-15 billion US dollars. But while the immediate importance of slave labor in the modern global economy may seem small, it should not be underestimated. First of all, because he is by no means isolated from the world by borders remote areas backward countries, but integrated into world economy. Slaves create goods that are exported to many countries of the world, and use the services of sexual slaves great amount men in the most different parts Sveta.

Modern slave owners are criminals who use various types of labor activities of vulnerable segments of the population, violating their rights to a decent life.

The problem of modern slavery is mainly studied by lawyers. In their research they dealt with the legal aspect of human trafficking, modern manifestations of labor exploitation, the use of minor labor, etc.3. However, becoming more and more urgent, this problem has not left sociologists, philosophers, and psychologists indifferent. The purpose of writing this work is to study modern slavery as one of the social problems, as well as to clarify its main forms, causes and consequences.

The Convention, signed at Geneva on September 25, 1926, defines slavery as “the position or condition of a person in respect of whom some or all of the powers incidental to the right of property are exercised.” The famous sociologist E. Giddens defines slavery as an extreme form of inequality, in which some people are literally the property of others4. According to international human rights organizations, modern slavery is defined based on three main criteria:

1) human activity is controlled through violence or the threat of violence;

2) the person is in this place and is engaged in this type of activity against his will and cannot change the situation of his own free will;

3) for the work a person receives an insignificant payment or does not receive it at all5.

Modern slave owners profit from people who have neither social nor legal protection. Victims of modern slavery can include people of all nationalities and cultures. No one in the modern world is immune from slavery. A slave can become a citizen from developing countries with low economic development, as well as citizens of highly developed civilized states of Europe and the USA.

So, we see that slavery does not disappear anywhere, but simply takes on various forms. The basis of slavery - the complete control of one person over the life and destiny of another - is preserved in all new manifestations of slavery. The cost of a modern slave has dropped significantly. In some countries of the world, a slave can be bought for less than $100 or exchanged for a goat (!). Free the Slaves estimates that in 1850 in the American South, the average slave sold for about $40,000, adjusted for the purchasing power of the U.S. dollar. Nowadays, a “slave” can be “bought” there for $120, and this brings significant profits to slave owners.

The main conditions that give rise to modern slavery include: social disorganization, economic crisis, political instability.

In more detail, the following reasons for the emergence of modern slavery should be indicated.

1) Socio-political: wars, natural disasters, political or ethnic struggles contribute to the impoverishment of the majority of people and force them to work in slave conditions for paltry wages. Often, due to these conditions, people move to other countries to escape poverty. But even there they are rarely lucky; refugees even more easily become “prey” of modern slave owners.

2) Socio-economic: population explosion in third world countries has practically exhausted available resources and led to an increase in the supply of labor and a fall in its price. Modernization and globalization of the world economy have also contributed to the unprecedented enrichment of elites and the growing impoverishment of the majority of the population. Forced transition to market agriculture, loss common land, as well as the policies of governments that lowered farmers' incomes for the sake of cheap bread for city dwellers, led to the bankruptcy of millions of peasants and their displacement from the land, sometimes into slavery.

3) Socio-legal: these reasons are based on the corruption of government and law enforcement, the lack of laws aimed at combating slavery, the low level of legal awareness of people, their legal illiteracy, the lack of a sufficient number of free legal consultations, as well as the passivity of law enforcement agencies in solving problems related to human trafficking, protecting their rights, etc.

So, we see that in the modern world the number of potential slaves is so large that supply exceeds demand, thereby reducing their price. Cheapness is one of the main distinctive features modern slavery. In addition to this feature, Kevin Bales cites other differences between modern slavery and traditional slavery:

1) evasion of registration of property rights;

2) very high level arrived;

3) an overabundance of potential slaves;

4) short-term relationships;

5) easy replaceability of slaves;

6) ethnic differences do not matter.

Thus, modern slavery differs significantly from the slavery of past centuries. There is no one single form of slavery, just as there is no one single form of marriage. People are inventive and adaptive, and therefore the metamorphoses of human cruelty and forms of exploitation

tions are endless. Modern forms of slavery are many and varied. We will highlight the most common of them.

1) Labor slavery. This form is closest to traditional slavery. A person is captured, either born or sold into permanent slavery, and property rights are often created. In such slavery, people work mainly in agriculture, on construction sites, in the service sector, performing the most difficult, unskilled work. This form of slavery is found everywhere, but most often in the Northern and West Africa and some Arab countries. In Russia, labor slavery is practiced among Roma and North Caucasian peoples. Traveling around the country in search of work, many so-called “homeless people” end up in real slavery in the villages of the North Caucasus republics or among the gypsies, where they are forced to do dirty work. homework, take care of livestock or work in vegetable gardens, while paying nothing and keeping them from hand to mouth in the position of slaves. Labor slavery is inextricably linked with another equally horrific form - human trafficking.

2) Human trafficking has acquired global proportions in recent years. According to UN estimates, people are sold into slavery (kidnapped, lured by deception, etc.) in 127 countries around the world, and foreign victims of human traffickers are exploited in 137 states6. Eleven countries reported a “very high” level of kidnapping activity, including Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova and Lithuania. In Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan this level is “high”. 10 states are favorite place transportation of modern slaves; including the USA, Israel, Turkey, Italy, Japan, Germany, Greece. Human trafficking is a common and growing practice. Recruitment of people for the purposes of economic or sexual exploitation is carried out using violence, deception or coercion. The merchant exercises control and ownership by:

Forcing victims to work against their will;

Managing their freedom of movement, for example through confiscation of their passports and non-payment of wages (if any);

Determining the place and time of work and the level of payment (if any);

The use of practices such as voodoo rituals that involve silencing, beatings and rape.

3) Debt slavery is the most common form of slavery in the modern world. The person becomes collateral for the money borrowed, but the duration and nature of the bond are not determined, and the work does not reduce the amount of the original debt. Debt can extend to subsequent generations, enslaving the descendants of the debtor. In case of non-payment of debt, children may be captured and sold into further debt bondage. Ownership is not formalized, but there is total physical control over enslaved workers. Debt slavery is most common in India and Pakistan.

4) Slavery by contract. It clearly demonstrates how modern technology can be used labor Relations in order to disguise new forms of slavery. Contracts are usually offered to guarantee employment in some enterprise or factory, but when the workers are brought to the place of work, they find that they have been reduced to slaves. The contract is used as bait to make slavery look like a legitimate working relationship. Indentured servitude can be found all over the world, most often it is practiced in Southeast Asia, Brazil, and some Arab countries.

Contract slavery also exists in Russia. Construction workers arriving in Moscow and a number of other large cities from the provinces and former Soviet republics actually find themselves in the position of slaves in Russia. Many unemployed people, in the hope of improving their financial situation, turn to recruitment agencies and other companies that promise

giving them a lot of money for " rotational work» in Moscow or the Far North. There they find themselves in the position of slaves, working 12 hours a day and huddling in appalling conditions in trailers, in workshops or on sites under construction. They are paid much less than promised, or nothing at all.

In addition to the above forms of modern slavery, which are the most common in the world, there are other easily identifiable forms of enslavement.

5) Physical slavery. This form is one of the most cruel and inhumane. The sources of this slavery are physically disabled people who are forced to beg.

6) Sexual slavery is characterized by the absolute control of one person over another and is not always associated with any financial reward. It includes:

Exploitation of prostitution, when a prostitute systematically transfers her earnings to third parties;

Forced prostitution against a person's will;

Forced marriage and wife selling is a recent form of sexual exploitation that involves media exposure of women willing to marry, so-called mail order brides, who subsequently become slaves to their husbands.

Previously, the main suppliers of sex slaves were Asian countries- Thailand and the Philippines. After the collapse of the USSR, the role of the main suppliers of women began to be played by the former republics of the Union: Ukraine, Belarus, Latvia and Russia. Over the past 10 years, hundreds of thousands of women have been taken from Central and of Eastern Europe and republics former USSR for prostitution in more than 50 countries. Another type of sexual slavery includes the involvement of children in the porn industry. Under pain of violence, children are forced to appear in pornographic films and engage in prostitution.

7) Military slavery. Men fall into this slavery to participate in armed conflicts. This also includes government-sponsored slavery. In Burma today, the capture and enslavement of civilians by the government and army is widespread. Tens of thousands of men, women, and children are used as porters during military campaigns against local residents or as workers on government construction projects. In this case, the motive is again economic benefit: not so much making a profit as reducing transport or production costs during a military campaign.

8) Conscript slavery is slavery when commanders, taking advantage of their position, use soldiers as slaves. This phenomenon is most common in the territory of the former USSR - soldiers perform non-statutory tasks, while commanders receive financial rewards. It often happens that a soldier is sold into slavery, and he is documented as missing or a deserter.

9) Penal slavery is absolutely new form slavery. It is found everywhere. This form involves the use of prison labor. Penal slavery is very profitable, since persons in prison are only partially citizens of the state (their rights are “withdrawn” during correction), which, in turn, allows for the cheap and free use of labor.

10) Religious slavery is mainly accompanied by the involvement of people in various religious sects. People sell their property, housing and give all the money to the “spiritual” leaders in order to become full members of the sect. Subsequently, they turn into powerless slaves, completely subordinate to the will of their so-called “spiritual” mentors. In some countries, by custom, girls and young women become ritual slaves to atone for sins committed by their members.

families. For example, in Nigeria, Ghana, Togo, Benin, women are handed over to local shamans, for whom they cook food, clean, and satisfy sexual needs until the shamans release them, usually after the birth of several children.

Enslavement can also be called such cases as the use of people as donors for organ and tissue transplantation, forced pregnancy and childbearing, and fictitious adoption7.

The main consequences of modern slavery include the deterioration of the health of the individual affected by slavery. Irritability, insomnia, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder are common psychological manifestations among victims of slavery. Unsanitary and cramped living conditions, combined with poor nutrition, contribute to the emergence of many unfavorable factors that threaten health, such as various types of scabies, tuberculosis and others infectious diseases. Slavery can lead to the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS. Therefore, despite the fact that these people are far from society, their exploitation affects general health population.

From the above we can conclude that modern slavery not only represents a problem of violation of human rights and national

safety, but also entails serious consequences for the health of the nation.

To summarize, it should be said that modern slavery is one of the unresolved problems in modern society. Among the reasons giving rise to modern slavery, the most relevant are still socio-political, socio-economic and socio-legal reasons. Solving, first of all, the problems of poverty, as well as social and legal protection of the population, will, in our opinion, minimize this problem.

1 Slavery Convention [Electronic resource]. Access mode: http://www.un.org/russian/documen/convents/convention_slavery.htm

2 US State Department Trafficking in Persons Report 2007 [Electronic resource]. Access mode: http://www crime.vl.ru.228.10.2008 Title. from the screen.

3 Makarov S.N. Implementation of international legal obligations to combat slavery and the slave trade in the criminal legislation of Russia: dis. ...cand. legal Sci. M., 2004. 208 p.

4 Giddens E. Sociology. M.: Editorial URSS. 1999. pp. 196-197.

5 Vanchugov V.V. Modern slavery. [Electronic resource]. Access mode http:// www.humanities.edu.ru/db/msg/80132

6 The report “Trafficking in Persons: Global Patterns” was published in 2006 [Electronic resource]. Access mode: http://www crime.vl.ru.228.10.2008 Title. from the screen.

7 Mizulina E.B. Human trafficking and slavery in Russia: international legal aspect. M.: Yurist, 2006.

We all went to school and know that in times colonial empires It was customary to seize new lands, and turn local residents into slaves and use them as manpower. The owners forced the poor, powerless blacks to work tirelessly, and if someone did not want to work, they were severely punished - they were deprived of food, water and even life. What has changed in last centuries? And the fact that slavery only changed its form, but remained.

Modern office slavery

Today slaves are ordinary people, we are with you. And the owners are large commercial corporations, banks and states. How so? - you ask - After all, I am free, I have personal time, no one whips me, and I live relatively well. But all these are just illusions. Illusions of freedom and equality. What distinguishes a free person from a slave? First of all, it is an opportunity to think and act freely. Unfortunately, in the modern world, people no longer have such an opportunity. And I will prove it to you:

Creating a Matrix

Have you ever wondered why all people in the world follow the same path - first they go to kindergarten, then to school, college and almost until the end of my days to work. Then, when they can no longer cope with their responsibilities, they retire as waste material. This system has been working for hundreds of years and has become commonplace. Ask anyone you know why he sent his child to school and why he himself goes to work. Most likely, no one will be able to clearly explain to you why this is being done.

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When we are born, our mind is free, we are interested in everything, we learn about the world around us. From about the age of 3 years, a proven program begins to take effect on us - all our thoughts, ideas and undertakings are limited by templates. This is called a beautiful term - the education system. We are only served necessary information, lay the foundation of future slaves in us. The school curriculum is not just the basics of applied subjects, it is a carefully prepared and approved system that greatly influences the subconscious of the little man. Best example the influence of the education system on the minds of millions of people - the birth of Nazi Germany. When children were already told at school that they were an exceptional, dominant nation capable of healing and bringing reason to the whole world. Millions German soldiers They voluntarily went to destroy all living things, only because the state made them believe in their dominance.

If you, unlike the majority, begin to show your individuality, you will at least be considered crazy. And if at the same time you begin to violate the usual principles of the owner and try to open the eyes of others, you will be isolated from society.

Restriction of Rights

Restricting freedom of thought is just the beginning. Slaves should not have rights. Today we are not far from this either. As soon as we are born, we automatically become a citizen of a country and are obliged to comply with its laws. Most often these are restrictive measures - you are prohibited from doing something. If you criticize your bosses, you will go to prison; if you don’t want to pay taxes for what you earn with your labor, you will go to prison. If you engage in dissent, it’s all the same. The citizen is obliged and that’s it, period. We are only obliged to work and benefit our master. Did you agree with the law by which you are obligated to live your whole life? You may not agree with them, but no one will ask you, you are a slave, you cannot have your own opinion, you must do everything they ask.

Financial dependence

We all work for money. And money, in turn, is a unit of measurement for the value of a product. That is, in fact, we work in order to purchase any product. According to statistics, 70% of the family budget of Russians goes to pay for food and housing. What does it mean? And the fact that we all work for food, and the opportunity to spend the night between going to work in comfortable conditions. Most of us are always short of money, the salary seems small - that’s how it is. The level of wages is specially regulated by the state - your salary should be enough for exactly a month of your existence, in order to force you to work all your life, to create wage and financial slavery. The owner does not benefit from a rich slave, because he can soon accumulate sufficient wealth and leave him.

Creation credit system is also one of the ways to force a slave to work. Credit slavery consists of initially creating intolerable conditions for a person and offering him a solution in exchange for freedom. To buy yourself a box made of concrete and metal, you need to save money for at least 10 years and live on the street. Or solve the problem by taking out a loan and paying it off for 20 years. That is, a person is guaranteed to work for at least two decades.

Artificial demand. Some people are provided with housing, the salary allows them to live well and save a day, how to encourage them to work? It’s very simple to force people to buy unnecessary things. Expensive foreign cars, branded items, iPhones, all-inclusive vacations - all this is stupid, expensive and not worth the money. But it fits perfectly into the image successful person, who will work hard for a whole year for something that he can completely do without.

Inflation. This is another mechanism of financial slavery. The concept itself implies an increase in prices in long period. When they say that inflation was 5%, it means prices for basic goods and services increased by 5 percent. However, inflation can be official and real, that is, the one that the state gives us - according to it, salaries, pensions, and benefits are indexed. And the one that actually exists is 2-3 times higher than the official one. As many have already guessed, inflation contributes to the decline real income citizens, devaluing them. No one will fight it; it is beneficial to any state in the world.

Devaluation of labor

How much does your company or the state earn? And how much do they pay you in salary? You'll never know. Because this is commercial, confidential information not available to ordinary mortals. Payment for your labor is just a part of the company’s expenses, insignificant, small. Add to this all sorts of fees in the form of taxes, insurance, pension contributions, and it turns out that you simply give away half of the money you earn. For what - so that in retirement you don’t die of hunger and buy bread and a carton of milk?

The state as a monopoly

What is today government system— the supremacy of power and law. That is, those in power control the lives of their slaves. This was again done with the help of laws and restrictions, and loyal people monitored this - security forces, judges, prosecutors, etc. Is there a choice? No. In exchange for your imaginary security, you must be ready to be useful, work for the benefit of the state, and live according to the pattern. At the same time, all wealth and resources go into the pockets of the chosen ones, but in fairness, if we were members of the same tribe, the common fund would be divided equally among everyone. But there is no point or hope in searching for the truth; the system has been working for hundreds of years and cannot be changed instantly. You need to change yourself.

How to free yourself from slavery?

First of all, there is no need to put on the armor of a savior hero and try to prove to others that we are all blacks. No one will believe you, much less follow you. Moreover, it is criminally punishable. You don't need to stand out among everyone, what you do for yourself is enough! Most rational decision will change your vision and lifestyle.

• You need to expand your horizons - read more philosophical books, get involved in history, learn languages ​​and get to know new cultures. Believe me, this is a great way to understand how strong and diverse our world is. Rediscover yourself, make the gray matter in your head move.
• Refuse from waste information - TV, radio, media portals. They won't do anything good anyway. Over time, you yourself will realize and see that 90% of the population thinks completely linearly, they process only the information they are fed.
• Reconsider your attitude towards material assets. You need to understand what you are working for, losing most of the time of your only life. Do you need the same iPhone for 90 thousand or is it better to use this money more prudently?
• Strive for financial freedom. You must make sure that every year you depend less and less on outsiders - on the salary paid by the employer, on benefits or pensions provided by the state. You must create multiples, passive sources income that can provide you with a comfortable future. Strive to not work at all.
• Make others work for you. Many people remember from history lessons that in Ancient Rome slaves, in order to gain freedom and wealth, joined the troops of their country. They captured territories and served their overlords. For this they were given freedom, land and... their own slaves. And what do you think, did they release their brothers into the wild? No matter how, they exploited their labor. This is the whole meaning of modern slavery - if you don’t want to work yourself, force someone else. The founders of the company and business owners are a kind of slave owners - after all, the lives of hundreds, thousands of people depend on their benevolence and justice.

Conclusion: If you were able to read the article to the end, then you probably understood the essence - you need to work not in order to live, but in order to become free. I hope now you dare to remove the shackles.

Thank you for your attention!

“Slavery is historically the first and most brutal form of exploitation, in which the slave, along with the instruments of production, was the property of his slave owner. ..."

“Slavery is a state of society in which it is possible for some people (called slaves) to be owned by other people. The master has complete ownership of the person of his slave. Being the property of another, a slave does not belong to himself and has no right to dispose of himself.” (Wikipedia)

But first things first.

A little history

Slavery, historically the first and most brutal form of exploitation, in which the slave, along with the instruments of production, was the property of his slave owner. A person who fell into slavery did not have any rights, and, moreover, deprived of an economic incentive to work, he worked only under direct physical coercion. Very often, the “special” position of slaves was emphasized by external signs (brand, collar, special clothing), because slaves were equated to things and no one assumed that a “thing” could change its status and, thereby, get rid of these attributes.

Slavery in the modern world

Originating at the stage of decomposition of the primitive communal system, Slavery. formed the basis of the slave system.

Basically, there were several “stable” sources of slaves - foreigners captured during the war or raids undertaken for this purpose; fellow tribesmen enslaved for non-payment of debts or as punishment for crimes committed; natural increase in slaves; slave trade.

The initial form of slavery was the so-called “patriarchal slavery”, when slaves entered the family that owned them as its members without rights: they usually lived under the same roof with the owner, but did more difficult work than other family members, most often it was associated with natural type of economy. “Patriarchal slavery” existed to one degree or another among all peoples of the world during their transition to a class society.

It prevailed in the societies of the Ancient East, as well as in the ancient Greek states and Rome until a certain period, when the rapid pace of economic development contributed to its transformation from patriarchal to ancient. For the late Roman Republic, patriarchal slavery developed into classical ancient slavery associated with commodity farming, with the maximum degree of expropriation of the slave’s personality, which is tantamount to his complete lack of rights, turning him into a “talking instrument.” In addition, it often happened, especially in rich houses, that slaves had their tongues deliberately cut off, thereby turning them into silent weapons.

The heyday of “classical” slavery was relatively short-lived, because The very nature of slave labor contained the reasons for its inevitable decline and degeneration: the slaves’ aversion to their labor and oppression could not but lead to the economic ineffectiveness of slavery and inexorably required, at best, a radical modification of slave dependence.

Historical factors, such as the reduction in the influx of slaves, continuous slave revolts, etc., acted along with economic ones, which in turn prompted slave owners to seek new forms of exploitation. It became obvious that there was a need to somehow interest the direct producer-slave in his work and thereby increase the efficiency of exploitation. Many slaves attach themselves to the ground and gradually merge with the columns. Historically, this change, due to economic reasons, led to the virtual erasure of the differences between colons and slaves.

During early Middle Ages In the “barbarian” states that arose on the territory of the Roman Empire, especially in the state of the Ostrogoths in Italy and the Visigoths in Spain, slavery as such played a noticeable, but no longer leading role in the economy. A significant part of the slaves sat on the land, paying rent to the master, and gradually merged with the impoverished layer of communal peasants into the group of feudal-dependent peasantry. By the 13th century, slavery virtually disappeared in most countries of Western Europe, but in the cities of the Mediterranean there was a wide trade in slaves (resale from Turkey to North Africa) lasted until the 16th century. In Byzantium, the process of eliminating slave relations was much slower than in Western Europe, so in the 10th-11th centuries slavery still retained economic significance there. But at the end of the 11th - 12th centuries. and in Byzantium the process of merging slaves with the dependent peasantry is practically completed. Among the Germans and Slavs, slavery was widespread mainly in a patriarchal form; in Rus' it existed back in the 9th-12th centuries. in the depths of the developing feudal society. Gradually, slaves (in Rus' they were called serfs) joined the ranks of the feudal-dependent peasantry, turning mainly into servants; At the same time, the position of some groups of serfs (employed in heavy trades - those who worked in mines) was not much different from the position of slaves. In the ancient states of Transcaucasia and Central Asia slavery existed until the 4th-6th centuries. Survival forms of it were preserved during the Middle Ages.

IN largest countries East - China, India and others - slavery, in its patriarchal form, survived until the development of capitalist relations there, and sometimes existed alongside them. The main source of slavery in the Middle Ages here was debt slavery. In China, the sale of family members into slavery by impoverished peasants was widespread. In addition, one of the sources of slavery in China throughout the Middle Ages was the conversion of criminals or members of their families into state slaves. Slavery has also become quite widespread in the Muslim countries of the Near and Middle East. Since Islam forbade the enslavement of Muslims, the main sources of slaves entering Muslim countries were their capture during wars with the “infidels” and their purchase on the markets of Europe, Asia and Africa. Slaves in Muslim countries were used for hard work - in mines, in the troops of Muslim sovereigns (the Mamluks were entirely slaves, after this service they could be “granted” freedom, but, as a rule, no one lived to see this moment), in the household and personal service (including harems and their staff).

The new stage of widespread (from the 16th century) slavery in the countries of Asia, Africa and America is associated with the process of the so-called primitive accumulation of capital, the colonial enslavement of these countries. Slavery acquired its widest scope and greatest economic importance in the colonies on the American continent. This was caused by the peculiarities of the development of the colonies in America: the lack of labor and the presence of free land, much of it suitable for running a large plantation economy. And also because it was usually pilgrims and criminals who went to the New World, who in turn only wanted to own the land, and not work on it.

The resistance of the Indians, as well as their extinction, along with the formal ban by the kings of Spain and Portugal to turn Indians into slaves, led to the fact that Spanish and Portuguese, and then North American planters began to import black slaves from Africa. The slave trade reached its greatest extent in the 17th-19th centuries. Total number the blacks imported into the countries of America amounted, apparently, to over 10 million people. In areas of large plantations in the southern states of the United States, in the West Indies, as well as in Brazil and Guiana, black slaves by the end of the 18th century. made up the majority of the population. The Negroes were treated very cruelly on the plantations; they were reduced to the status of draft animals. Only the groups of slaves who served the planters' households were in a slightly better position. Marriages between slave owners and black concubines led to the emergence of a large layer of mulattoes in a number of countries. A new impetus for the development of plantation slavery in the United States at the end of the 18th - first decade of the 19th centuries. gave rise to the industrial revolution, which caused a sharp increase in demand for cotton and other industrial crops.

As capitalist relations developed, the low productivity of slave labor, which hampered further development productive forces. Under these conditions, under the pressure of the ever-increasing resistance of the slaves and with the growth of widespread social movement abolition began against slavery.

Great French revolution proclaimed the abolition of slavery. However, in French colonies this act was implemented in essence only in the 40s. 19th century Great Britain legally abolished slavery in 1807, but in fact until 1833 slavery remained in the British colonies. In the 50s 19th century announced the abolition of R. Portugal, and in the 60s. slavery was abolished by most states of the American continent. In the USA, slavery was abolished as a result of Civil War 1861-65 between Northern and Southern (slave) states. However, forms of forced labor continued to exist, not much different from slavery. In a number of colonial and dependent countries, the institution of slavery continued to exist for a long time. Slavery was especially widespread in the Portuguese colonies of Africa, both in the plantation and in the household. Among the Arabs of Central and Southern Arabia and in some African countries, slavery continued until the 50s. 20th century

International legal regulation of the fight against slavery began in the 19th century; however, most of the documents condemning slavery were formal, even more informative. Essentially the first international convention against slavery was concluded in 1926 in Geneva within the framework of the League of Nations. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the UN in 1948, declared (Article 4) that slavery and the slave trade are prohibited in all forms. In 1956, a conference of representatives of 59 states on the issue of combating slavery was held in Geneva, which adopted an additional convention on the abolition of slavery, the slave trade and institutions and practices similar to slavery. It was also considered forced labor.

According to the UN, the US State Department and the European Union Commission on Illegal Immigrants, there are 27 million people in the world today. These are the results of a study conducted by these departments and employees of the human rights organization Anti-Slavery International.

I think many still remember the march of more than a million illegal immigrants through the streets of Los Angeles, when the US government decided to equate all illegal immigrants with criminals.

What pushes people to become illegal immigrants, and sometimes even slaves?

It is believed that in the modern world fertile ground for slavery is created by:

1. poverty - I am sure that many remember how three adult men, for a reward of 1000 Kenyan shillings (an average salary of 1 shilling a day), drowned in a pit of excrement, and then after the intervention of the police;

2. imperfection of the legal system - there are countries where legislative level such a concept as “slavery” is not fixed;

3. traditionalism - there are also places (usually in Muslim countries) where a wealthy family is obliged (!!!) to have at least one slave, despite the fact that the slave should not be of the same faith as the owner;

4. lack of political will among the leaders of a number of countries - there are cases when presidents of super-presidential republics were directly involved in organizing and controlling channels for transporting slaves and illegal immigrants.

Today there are several “main” directions for the slave trade:

1. Men - to do heavy work - builders, loaders.

2. Women - as a rule, this is prostitution, but also in renting houses as workers;

3. Children – prostitution, begging, sale of children for organs.

In addition to forced slavery, there is also relatively “voluntary” slavery:

1. Labor – associated with the extraction of resources in the modern world. Very developed in the West. When an employee, even a professional in his field, for a long time works in the same company and does not have the opportunity to carry out neither horizontal nor vertical mobility, i.e. the employee does not move up the career ladder or from department to department, which turns him into the notorious “office plankton”, a professional, but at the same time unnecessary workforce. Also when one of the dependent relatives (most often the elderly) does housework, etc., because they can no longer participate in receiving material goods due to their age and physical abilities, but I also cannot participate in receiving and processing information, due to weakened mental activity and other factors, thereby they involuntarily become hostages, in fact slaves - living for a roof over their heads and food.

2. Domestic sexual - also dominates for the most part in the West, but its signs are already observed in our society - a situation where a man (less often a woman) forbids his partner to work (directly participate in obtaining resources), guided by an imaginary concern for the mental, physical the partner’s condition, thereby posing as the “breadwinner” in the family, which in turn entails humiliation of the partner, “indicating” his place in life and in a particular society, as a consequence of the emergence of violence in families.

3. Conscript slavery - widespread in the territory of the former USSR and the current CIS - performing non-statutory tasks, while commanders receive material rewards, it often happens that a serviceman is sold into slavery, and the soldier is documented as missing or a deserter.

4. Penal slavery - found everywhere - the use of prison labor, because persons in “places of deprivation of liberty” are only partially citizens of the state (their rights are “withdrawn” for the period of correction), which in turn allows for the cheap and free use of labor. There was a precedent when the head of a prison “sold” all the prisoners into slavery for several years, after which, with the amount received from the transactions, he disappeared.