the Marxist view.
Historiography created his own Marxist periodization of history using variable modes of production, considering that each correspond to a particular historical period. Thus, for the classical world, the Marxists (much more than Marx, who did not get to define it precisely) characterize classical antiquity as slave mode of production. This means that in Greece and Rome slavery would hegemonic mode of production, ergo not alone. However, under the generic name of "slavery", is part of a series of forms of work, with many similarities and differences together even take into account the same society. We believe therefore important to distinguish the "slavery" in the different stages of the classical world.
Before the study of slavery throughout the historical process, we clarify some key points:
► MODES OF PRODUCTION ON
Basically, a mode of production produces questions as a society . To elucidate the question above is necessary to put the spotlight the social relations of production. Ie lasos study between producers and the appropriators (or not) of surplus. Godelier
mode of production defines as "capable of reproducing the combination of the productive forces and social relations of production specific to determine the structure and form of the process of production and circulation of material goods in a society historically determined" (Annequin, Clavel-Lévêque and Favory: 1979, 18). But a mode of production no longer an ideal type of analysis, a cut of the reality that allows us to approach in order to interpret and reconstruct a section of the past.
The slave mode of production (MPE, hereinafter) provided the largest slave labor to the socioeconomic system (That's why we said it was hegemonic). For Perry Anderson, all the achievements of classical history are due to "time" than the slave system allowed them to philosophers. While this is partially true, not all men Greeks and Romans had slaves. The free labor ("salaried" or more exactly protoasalariada) has never gone (columella and Varro). The slave is not only the producer but also through production well (Annequin, J, et., Al.: 1979, 29). However, this fact leads to another problem, that of the slaves as a social class:
►
CAN TALK TO THE OLD SOCIAL CLASSES? (Ste Croix)
is a complex issue and depends on what is meant by "social class." First, Marx never gave a precise definition of which was a social class, as recognized by Sainte Croix. For him, the class is simply a situation dominated, oppressive, or quote: "a situation of exploitation." For the Marxist political activity and consciousness are not necessary conditions for the existence of a social class. To find a class, as I said, just an exploitative relationship. Ie the appropriation of others' work product. Ste Croix are two kinds of exploitation, the direct (the exploitation of slaves) and indirect (Imperial taxes levied on the provinces and / or the free settlers). (Ste Croix, 1984: 9)
VISION NO MARXIST.
For Weber, the slaves are not a class since they have no interest in the market, and it is there (market) where the class situation arises. If we rely on approximations of Polanyi, for whom there was no market in the ancient world (at most we can find "market elements"), logically follows that there were no classes because they form necessarily in markets and no classes markets can not exist.
slaves are in any case, a 'group status "or" estate ", a legal category in which what prevails is the venality, where social stratification is not up to the economic (not misunderstand!). A metic can be much more wealthy than a small Greek owner, but this has the status of free citizen. In Rome the freedmen could even surpass the fortunes of the equestrian order, and yet others were overlooked by the public.
Another argument about that slaves are not a social class is that these have no "class consciousness", or any political involvement, which itself recognizes Ste Croix, who to save the situation, is the need to "force" the Marxist concept or idea (not even clear to Marx) class. Moreover, it seems inappropriate to apply the concept of "class" to a group that lacked "clear consciousness of today is on this issue" (Braudel, 1985: 116). According to the interpretation of Ste Croix class, then women (to be in a situation of "domination" as opposed to men) constitute a class, and children against their parents ... rather than taken from the Capital, this theory of Ste Croix, seems to be related to the wording of the polygraph more popularized Marx: The Communist Manifesto.
In sum, the most that can be found in antiquity, and even today (though we though) is Consciousness itself, no conscience for himself.
MYCENAE SLAVERY TO THE CRISIS OF THE CENTURY XII. (C.1700 - c.1200)
Mycenaean World has more similarities with ancient Near Eastern states with subsequent Greek poleis. Here we find a state that controls and manages the agricultural and handicraft production. This administration was focused on the palaces, where they found the file with documents written in Linear B (Chadwick, 1977: 97), which along with archeology are our only source on this period.
The Linear B tablets appears a term that has been translated as "slave / a 'doero / doer (Lejeune 1987: 105). Lejeune and Chadwick both agree on the existence of "private slaves' (especially women slaves) and that the slaves could be" bought "[or rather" traded "or say they were" traded "] (see Chadwick, 1977: 107; Lejeune, 1987: 105-6), but differ substantially in the role and type of slavery of the Classical World.
First, to Chadwick, the concept of "free" and "non-free" should be used with more caution, caution, because in a society of an autocratic monarchy and type as the Mycenaean era, it is very difficult for someone outside the King (wanax) were truly free (Chadwick, 1977: 106). Almost the entire population, also was required to undertake the provision of temporary and compulsory (Chadwick, 1977: 106-7) [similar to that which existed in Egypt], for these purposes, was performed [as in Egypt Pharaonic] a census of individuals in working condition.
Chadwick notes that the main form of slavery is debt bondage, in which the debtor to get a loan and not being able to afford to give their children and wife to a creditor but even so could not repay the debt, just giving himself. The lists palace appears a large number of women with children, may be due to the reason that we indicated above. However, to Chadwick, this flow of "slaves" would be nothing more than captive defeated peoples, and refers to the practice, once conquered a place, they proceeded to kill all men and women with children were taken to the capital to be subjected to domestic work and textiles (Chadwick, 1977: 109).
Meanwhile, Lejeune (to clear Marxist), said that the bulk of production was Mycenaean World charged on the slaves, that is, for him, this society was a slave society and the mode of production was the slave mode of production. For us it is a mistake, since, as pointed out by Chadwick, private slaves, when they appear, they do not work together to and for their owners (Chadwick, 1977: 107). In addition, we have no quantitative sources to determine whether it was an MEP or MP was one that had slaves.
But the crisis of the twelfth century would sweep across the palate centralized and organized system, and ages ranging from XII to VII-VI we rebuild from relatively late literary sources such as The Iliad, The Odyssey and Works and Days of Hesiod.
SLAVERY in Homer and Hesiod.
In Homer the slave is not yet what will be in the V century, but it is the same as in the Mycenaean World. Here the slave is the lowest social class, no one over at a disadvantage: the thes, the "lowest creature on earth who could imagine Achilles in Hell (Finley, 1961: 67). The thes (as the client, Rome and yanacona in America) are characterized by a lack of links that join an Oikos ("community"), while the slave is part of it, a community, and treatment with them was not too hard, some might be as much to have their own slaves (Finley, 1961: 67). In any case, as in the Mycenaean world, more women in slavery men, and these commonly served as concubines of their masters, they could dispose of them at will, and could participate in the raising of sons of the masters. These women were slaves, mostly spoils of war, as for example the case of Briseis in the Iliad, or the mother of Odysseus in the Odyssey.
Hesiod's world is "a world unknown to Homer's epic" (Polanyi 1994: 231), here are links to the oikos broken, the community is in crisis, is the time when the farmer is fully independent and it depends on their livelihoods. It's an individualistic world, where everything must be saved and regulated. Saving is the base of the economy in the world of Hesiod, says Polanyi. Here the slave is an instrument. The types of work performed (hard tasks in the field) are preferable to men than women. Besides the slaves are the servants, thes, Hesiod claimed that the servant should be more than 40 years "as well will have more interest in his work that his friends" (Polanyi 1994: 240). We said it was saving the world. The slaves must be strictly necessary and should be made to work all the time, because time is gold, and each slave is one more mouth to feed.
This world to the brink of subsistence paints us Hesiod, is a world in which man sets out to compete, but competition is not capitalism, because the surplus is small and almost all production is consumed domestically . It's a competition to avoid falling into debt bondage, not to be broke and not be a slave. Slavery and debt remain united until the reforms of Solon.
SLAVERY IN CLASSICAL GREECE.
Max Weber defined to the ancient economy as "essentially agrarian and dominated by political rather than economic reasons" (Sherratt A, and S, 1991: 1). This idea is what sustains the so-called "Cambridge School" (Finley, Polanyi, Jones, Hopkins) and some French historians (Austin and Vidal-Naquet). Moreover, historians of this movement, have emphasized the need to work with ideal types, moving away from mere description or reformulation of the content of the sources.
In broad strokes we can distinguish two ideal types of work required in Classical Greece:
► Ilot:
Own states Naquela Austin and Vidal-called "archaic" (Austin, Vidal-Naquet, 1989: 81), whose main exponent is Sparta.
The helots is a serious problem. Some people no doubt consider slave. And indeed, for the Athenians were the slaves of the Spartans, as shown in the Peace of Nicias. While we share with Austin and Vidal-Naquet it is "two very different types of submission." Helots are not "debt slaves" as those that existed in the Mycenaean era, Homer or Hesiod. Nor spoils of war itself. Indigenous population is subjected. Helots are not private the Spartans, but the state and are forced to work the land and deliver the product is to homoioi, Spartan citizens. These helots could be freed from their condition in neodamodeis guessed, subsequently (IV-III century "?) Were to pay even the right to the table. The revolt of the Helots as Marxist theory would take the characteristics of a class struggle. But what we actually see is the struggle between two different peoples, a people who rebelled against what other people have submitted, it is a "rebellion" (or better yet "rebellion") and not a "revolution" because this is not intended to end to a given system, but improvements in their situation or just change the roles of the exploited-exploiters. Most remembered the rebellion of 464 is associated with the earthquake that destroyed much of the city. The helots were preparing to take the city, but Archidamus II armed the Spartan army and those retreated to Messinia, where they resisted and they were required to sign a peace treaty, shaking off the yoke Spartan (Oliva 1983, chapter III). Also the helots are not a "good" as in Athens, you can not buy or sell. Although their situation was, according to Xenophon, even harder than the slaves themselves. It must be remembered that the young soldiers, as an initiation rite, they must kill a Helot. (Plutarch, Xenophon). ►
Slaves:
slavery as such was in Athens and the polis to Austin and Vidal-Naquet considered "modern." Here the slave is well differentiated. It is naturally different, lower city by nature. The difference, of course repeat, not legal as the Sophists thought (and the Stoics) against Aristotle. The slave is a privately owned, bought and sold. It is always a foreigner. The reforms of Solon had banned debt bondage, the land being the only good attachable (Finley, 1984: 89). What was the source of these slaves? Mainly came from the north, Black Sea, there are no exact sources and these hypotheses defended by Finley and Austin and Vidal-Naquet, are taken from literary sources, primarily the fourth-century comedies (Aristophanes, for example). The slaves are not citizens. If a slave gets manumission, will buying the right (This is done by a eranos, ordered by his master and the slave then returns), but will remain as a metic, and as such, will be unable to acquire land. In Athenian type societies, the socio-legal distinction between the different stakeholders is clear and precise. There are intermediate situations. The citizen, however poor it never ceases to be a citizen, at most falls in the condition of theta and during the IV (but mostly with Hellenism) will be able to escape this situation after the acquisition of land outside Attica, through the cleruquias. Furthermore, the Greek slave is legally distinct from the Roman. First, if the abuses are too many, may appear before the court with a tutor. It was also believed that this difference is pure formuleo.
Hellenistic kingdom. (323 to 30 BC.)
With Alexander, the world of the polis is definitely dead. But not slavery. The Seleucid kingdom slavery prevailed, more manufacturing jobs than in the cultivation of land. Cultivated land outside the Laos, the land gueorgoi own.
In Egypt there was almost no slavery, no private ownership of land. He kept the ancient oriental mode of production (for want of a better name).
Antigone In the kingdom were no significant changes.
SLAVERY IN ROME. ►
Commoners are not slaves.
In Rome, the populace is a lower social order, but not slaves. Etymologically means "multitude", and are (unlike the patricians) Free Etruscan influence, but not the influence of the Greek colonies (Rostovtseff, 1968). The wars against the Gauls led the populace to be included in the Roman army (ibid). The Roman tradition placed two orders (patricians and plebeians) of the Urbs ab original, being the creator of both estates Romulus (Cornell, 1997). However, as noted by Cornell, the two estates are the product of a long historical process which was crystallized in the fourth century, the laws Licinio-SEXTIES (1997: 287). ►
Customers are not slaves: reciprocity, lack of venality.
Another problem is the customer. According Hervás (1978), appears in the scope of the gens, which is pre-existing state. The gens is a closed body and inside her admission was by the vote of the people, the space is pagus gens (village), headed by the paterfamilias. According Hervás, clients are those who have no ties to any gens and therefore should seek admission to one of these groups, and are admitted subject character, with obligations to the patronus. But the relationship between the two groups is reciprocal (asymmetric, but reciprocity at the end), because in return for client services, the employer must provide consumer protection. The bond between them is the FIDES. To boil (which is Marxist), the admission of customers in the gens is the first phenomenon of class division. But customers are not slaves.
Customers could be citizens, and in fact, they were. The slaves are not citizens, and during the "archaic" Rome also see debt bondage (law of the Twelve Tables), which is prohibited by law after 326ac.
►
Consolidation slave mode of production.
The slave mode of production (as such) will not develop until the first Punic War (264-241 BC) (Kovalev, 1959), when they will begin pouring into Roman territory a large number of prisoners of war, as well as Rome, taking over more and be more fertile territory. By increasing territorial expansion and wars, it is increasingly necessary that farmers move to join the ranks of the army, then gradually disappearing the small farmer is free. These will be replaced by the slaves who cultivate large farms. Subject to attempt to remedy the Gracchus brothers (II). For Kovalev in the second century BCE can be observed:
a) Complete development of the slave mode of production.
b) Increase of large estates and small decline. ►
The 2 types of slaves, Cato (234.149ac), Columella (first century AD)
slaves for manual labor
: Destined to the countryside, urban manufacturing and mining. Mainly men captured in battle. In the case of the field were organized into gangs. Columella advises that the need to exploit as much as possible reducing its cost as much as possible. [Maximize the utility costs down]. The price of these was relatively low, especially in wartime. Urban slaves had more luck, had a job with a certain level of expertise. Rural slaves were treated more cruelly as in the mines. In rural slaves is some stratification.
Slaves "learned": This other type of slaves had a different origin. These were mainly Hellenistic Greeks and Egyptians. And cultivated people were taken to Rome to serve as teachers, mainly. They were philosophers, historians, lawyers, etc.. Spread of Greek culture in Rome. An example is Polybius of Megalopolis. Cato, like all traditionalists, opposed to Greek culture. ►
Cato discusses how to extract the most benefit to the slaves. Maintained that it should produce wine and olive oil as the main crop, not wheat. Since the former could be exported. Attached great importance the craft. Cato also had slaves with livestock and farming tools and suggested creating discord within his own slaves in order to prevent uprisings. The Republican period was the most ill-treatment of slaves.
► Columella, his work is in agreement with Cato as to get the most revenue possible to land, and that placed emphasis on the specialization of labor lead to the maximum. Already in the first century when he writes Columella, is a relative dearth of slaves. This period of Pax Romana, where they stopped the war and therefore the acquisition of slaves, is visible in Columella. This advised that they be given freedom to all women who had three children. Than infer what interest in the reproduction of people to enslave and exhaustion of war captives slaves.
Slave Revolts: Given that Greece is not known slave revolts and in Rome were mainly in southern Italy, we can assume that in Greece, slaves were treated more humane. We can say that these riots can not be called revolutionary, as their aim was not to change the system of slavery for another, but to convert slaves to their masters. (Kovaliov.)
the imperial era.
It is the lean period, the operational mode of reproduction of slave labor.
time of the republic in the conventional way of obtaining slaves was the war, made them captive and turned over to the soldiers as booty. The remaining is sold in the market. Well into the empire should care more for the slaves, because they were not as abundant as during periods of military expansion (Alföldy). Another way to get slaves without resorting to looting was the reproduction of these. Columella, as anticipated, freeing advised the mother who had more than 3 children. Also, some poor families sold their own children as slaves. ►
manumissions Why?
There is no easy answer to this question, taking into account the high price of slaves. But we can assume that in this way to encourage slaves to work more readily. Besides providing the freedmen continued moral and economic benefits to their owners and when they are allowed their master could buy their freedom. Even the masters left in their wills the freedom of their slaves. Manumissions were so numerous that in the year 2 BC. A law set limits on the number of slaves could be freed at once.
Another factor contributing to decreasing the yoke of slaves (and encourage their freedom) is the factor of Stoicism and Christianity. Especially the latter gave him the slave status of humans, contrary to the definitions of Varro and Columella. But make no mistake, Christianity does not challenge the status quo. Things are so because God wanted them. San Pablo will be limited solely to compel the slaves to obey their masters, but to protect the slave masters who treat them humanely, because, after all, are, like them God's creatures.
The Stoics, like Seneca and the Sophists, claimed that between freeman and slave was not a Unlike "natural", but only legal. For the Stoics a slave was as human as anyone. But his luck was not the best, and so fell into slavery.
We have seen the differences (very roughly) forms of compulsory labor in Greece, separating two ideal types for the helots of slavery (slavery Athens), as well as slavery in Rome, which will remain as a way of dominant production until the "Crisis of the third century, after which the colonato begin to emerge, the seeds of feudalism.
Emilio Tomassini, Professor of History UNLu.
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