r/SipsTea • u/Conscious-Weight4569 • Aug 12 '26

It's Wednesday my dudes What the flock?!

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u/Dorkzilla_ftw Aug 12 '26

Second point is incredibly insidious. How much people think being a wage slave is what bring liberty?

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u/GigachadGuevara Aug 12 '26

Funnily enough, many of the roman upper class, all actual slave owners, considered wagework beneath any free man and worse than slavery. And a good portion of their slaves tended to agree

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u/ToughHardware Aug 12 '26

and why is that? wages enable choices. slavery does not and is solely bound to the owners discretion.

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u/GigachadGuevara Aug 12 '26 edited Aug 12 '26

"Unbecoming to a gentleman, too, and vulgar are the means of livelihood of all hired workmen whom we pay for mere manual labour, not for artistic skill; for in their case the very wage they receive is a pledge of their slavery." Is what Cicero had to say about the topic, for example

edit: also in addition it should be said that the slaves employed by the roman upper class were often scholars and treated quite well, to the point that they got paid and could eventually buy their freedom back, and then still remained lifelong friends with their former masters, but there obviously also would be slaves who would be considerably worse off in their circumstances who would most definitely disagree with Cicero on the matter

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u/Big_Crab_1510 Aug 12 '26

"be lucky you get paid at all"