Poverty as the Engine of Servitude

The analysis shows that throughout history, poverty and indigence have driven individuals into slavery or servile conditions, and that modern capitalism's insecurity similarly pushes the proletariat to accept compulsory labor in exchange for guaranteed subsistence.

The chapter discusses how destitution can force individuals into contracts that effectively create servile conditions.

Poverty is identified as the primary cause of slavery: men sold themselves or were born into slavery due to indigence, and the institution was sustained by the poverty of the enslaved.

The second strain is the insecurity and insufficiency imposed on the dispossessed, who face starvation unless they submit to the terms set by the owners.

The driving force of reform is pity for poverty and insecurity, which leads to servile conditions rather than true liberation.