Vestiges Of Slave Culture

Historically, slavery had been an ancient practice whose underlying justification was to emphasise the inequality of humans. Christianity and other world religions could not stop the practice but tried to reduce the brutish aspects of it by emphasizing the fact that all humans have a common spiritual origin.
Ancient practice of slavery was quite different from the commercial or Trans-Atlantic slave project brought into practice by European adventurers.
What is important in this write-up is the fact that the culture or mindset of enslavement of man by man is an expression of a human proclivity or propensity. The expression and implementation take different forms and guises according to the degree of awareness and resistance of a significant number of the human population. There have always been slave masters at all times in human history and in all places, even though no one may be called a slave now.
No one would deny the fact that there are strong as well as weak people, fearless as well as fearful people, just as there are always rich as well as poor people, in every part of the globe. It is a common human experience that people who share similarities of qualities, character and mindset usually come and bond together, for the purpose of exploring their inclinations.
We cannot deny the fact that successful people in all aspects of human endeavours are usually those who are determined, focused and fearless and pursue their goals in a dogged manner. Thus through military prowess, the strong can intimidate, conquer and possibly enslave the weak. Lands possessions and even human dignity and rights can be taken away from the weak by the strong.
The fact that nations and governments spend much money for defence and arms did not start in recent times of history, neither would such priority abate. In the past, strong nations would conquer and colonise weaker nations and levy taxes and tributes upon them, as well as exploit them in various ways. But now, the danger of such form of enslavement remains obvious.
Nations now prey upon people internally and externally through the instrumentality of policies and other diplomatic means, particularly international trades and other interactive processes. The concept of “no permanent friends or enemy, but permanent interests” clearly expresses the fact that self-interest and self-preservation remain the pillars of international relations.
Human beings are basically predators and this predatory proclivity manifests in acts of aggression, depredation and plunder, whereby the weak is usually short-changed. Human strength or valour is not measured in terms of physical prowess and brute force, but more in terms of wit and wisdom. Thus, modern nations spend resources in intelligence gathering, to map out the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in other nations and institutions, as well as ways to exploit them.
The international community was once described by a very senior diplomat as a “shark-infested pool” where inexperienced players should not dabble into. Both at international and local levels, manifestations of the slave culture take various clever forms, ranging from blusters and subterfuge, to bamboozlement. Self preservation which is necessary for human survival, can take the form of aggression or loving kindness, depending on the nature of people one has to deal with or circumstances.
Slave trade did not stop because slave masters became benevolent or repentant, but because it was seen to be counter-productive. Strategies had to change from physical enslavement to exploitation of labour and resources. Therefore, the issues of resource control and payment of living rather than slave-wage are some of the vestiges of slave culture whose motives remain constant, while the forms can change.
Current form of the slave culture is buried in global capitalism whose guiding philosophy is survival of the strongest, which is also anchored on self-interest. Any reader who wants to know how this works out in the political-economy of Nigeria can check an online posting in The Times of April 19, 2008, by one Matthew Parris. It is titled: “The New Scramble for Africa Begins: Modern Imperialism on the Resource-Rich Continent will be less Benign than old Colonialism”.
Oil mineral resource, labour/wage issues, local politics and arms trade are key areas where the antics of the slave culture manifest most critically. A nation’s reward system, the level of social justice and the dynamics of resolving conflicts are the play grounds of vestiges of the slave culture. Religion serves as pain-killer.
Dr. Amirize is a retired lecturer, Rivers State University, Port Harcourt.

Bright Amirize