Slaves: Good or Bad?

My name is Montyius Sagius, and I am here reporting for the plebeians who lost their jobs to slaves of the latifundia. These plebeians have been working hard to support their families, but now they are on the verge of selling themselves or their families into slavery. They are considering this because the streets of Rome are infested with criminals, and also being a slave gives them a roof over their head and food to eat. This is a huge problem for countless reasons, one being that there are homeless families all over Roman streets. It is also an issue because it is making Rome look weak and shows how Rome needs to change its ways and employ these plebeians.

Most slaves are usually people who have been captured in battle or children who have been abandoned. Also, fathers have the right to sell their older children into slavery. This is unfair because these people have no say in whether they want to be a slave or not. If a child is born into a poor family who can’t afford to support them, they will most likely be sold into slavery and never be able to have the same opportunities as a free child. This is not right because the child would never be able to have a successful life, all because they were sold into slavery.

Most slaves work on farms because rich farmers can buy them, then use them for free labor. On the farm, slaves work the land for the farmers and in return are fed and kept alive. Other slaves work almost anywhere. Some of the other things they do are work in private households, mines, and factories. They also work for the government by building things such as roads and aqueducts. Slave owners have complete control over the slaves and can inflict harm on them, or even kill them at any time without being prosecuted. This is extremely unfair to slaves because they have no choice in what they want to do, and if they do something wrong they can be killed and forgotten about. The extremely bad tradition of slavery needs to stop before more people’s lives can be taken over by another person.