There are slaves and then there are slaves

Orson Scott Card, he of many words and author of famous SF, has a new interesting polemic---more or less comparing Rome to the USA. He does it in a good way, not the usual Rome Fell, so we Fall, etc.

On the way, he falls into to usual trap of saying that slaves were at the bottom of the economic system in terms of purchasing power. Well, some slaves were at the bottom: let's say salt miners. But, for example, Egypt was owned directly by the Emperor as his own personal property---therefore it was managed by one of his slaves. Now there is a slave with purchasing power. In general, slaves could have their own money, property, etc. During certain times of the empire, slaves---at least the better sort---had more rights than freemen.

OSC's article is a good read anyway. He's definitely a post 9/11 person.

I've had a bottle of my homemade wine so I laugh at barbarian invasions.