Slavery and Manumission in Ancient cultures

In many ancient cultures, slavery was unfortunately a key factor in the development of their respective economies. On our trip we specifically learned about the use of slavery in early Greek and Roman history. The article 'Slavery, Incentives and Manumission: a theoretical model' by Robert Findlay outlines a comparison of a slave workforce vs the free market model we more commonly operate with today.

Findlay utilizes a carrot and stick example to explain the two ways slaves are 'motivated' to complete their tasks. In the Roman example, it was not uncommon for slaves to receive some amount of payment for completing work. This would be carrot style motivation - in the free market a carrot would be the opportunity for promotion or a wage increase. On the opposing side, the stick in the slave workforce would be the threat of violence or the use of violence to coerce the slaves. In the free market an example of stick motivation may be threat of dismissal or cutting hours. The use of stick motivation in the slave market is cheaper - however it also runs the risk of injuring the slaves, incentivizing the slave owners to utilize the carrot method. Many slaves were also skilled craftsmen or linguists, meaning that it would be more profitable in the long run to ensure they were sufficiently provided for.

Less common than in more contemporary examples of slavery, Roman slaves had the opportunity to purchase their freedom from their owners. Findlay utilizes an edited Cobb-Douglas function to give us an idea of how slave owners may have came up with the price for freedom. The owner would consider how long the slaves working life would be, how much product the slave would have produced, the cost to maintaining any incentives (i.e. 'carrot' payments), and interest on the cost of the slave originally. The benefit to the owner comes from the ability to repurchase younger slaves after 'freeing' an older individual. Often highly skilled slaves would be unable to free themselves due to their own perceived value - so their savings may go to freeing a wife, children or some family member. In a way, Roman slavery was a brutal form of indentured servitude.

We see this style of slavery that allowed the individual to buy their freedom more often in low capital economies. For example, Brazilian slavery often involved intense labor and physical work on the part of the slave. This means that the slaves working life was often shorter than that of an individual who worked as a translator. Because of this, owners were more incentivized to pay their slaves and then regain their earnings to purchase replacements.

Of course, there are more factors that go into this culture than just profits. In American history, slavery was racially motivated and created different social institutions that prevented slaves from ever reaching real freedom. There are many examples of American slavers allowing slaves to purchase freedom - however it was also common that these slaves would then be recaptured and enslaved again. Additionally, many owners would allow slaves to save up money to buy their freedom, but then just take the funds and cheat the individual.

The truth is, much of Ancient Rome's wonders are the result of slavery. The Colosseum being one example. 40% of Pompeii's population was made up of slaves by some estimates. Historically, slavery has always been profitable and a powerful industrial tool utilized by the wealthy, at the cost of innocent lives.