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If you want skilled labor, your best option is hire, just like pharaohs did in the same Egypt when they built their pyramids
(and here you are obviously trying to get away by excessive extension of the concept).
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I would prefer to stay with the narrow definition of slavery as
chattel slavery
Deisik I agree that it is best to use clear terms. Under the the definition of
chattel slavery my prior description of the structure of ancient Egypt was overly broad.
We do not know with certainty how much "chattel slave" labor went into the pyramids. The Greek historian Herodotus wrote in 450 B.C. that they were built by slaves but that was long while after their construction. Some more recent archaeological evidence points to workers slightly higher up the social ladder.
http://www.usnews.com/science/articles/2010/01/12/egypt-new-find-shows-slaves-didnt-build-pyramidsHawass said evidence from the site indicates that the approximately 10,000 laborers working on the pyramids ate 21 cattle and 23 sheep sent to them daily from farms.
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The pyramid builders led a life of hard labor, said Adel Okasha, supervisor of the excavation. Their skeletons have signs of arthritis, and their lower vertebrae point to a life passed in difficulty, he said.
"Their bones tell us the story of how hard they worked," Okasha said.
Wildung said the find reinforces the notion that the pyramid builders were free men, ordinary citizens
"But let's not exaggerate here, they lived a short life and tomography skeletal studies show they suffered from bad health, very much likely because of how hard their work was."
All of this is largely irrelevant to our prior discussion and we should not lose sight of the forest for the trees. I agree with you that slavery is economically inefficient and attempting to train educated slaves is even more economically inefficient. Our disagreement (if any) are entirely over the fundamental nature of the forces that lead to the end of slavery.
Your argument was that technological progress that helped end slavery and I also agree with that. However, technological progress is simply a function of applied knowledge.
If you want to argue that increased technology led to the end of slavery you must next examine the factors that allow knowledge to increase. In
Knowledge, Entropy and Freedom I addressed what I believe to be the fundamental driver of knowledge creation.
Unfortunately due to time constraints I do not have time to continue this conversation further so I will give you the last word on the matter.