In the book, The Political Economy of Slavery by Eugene D. Genovese, the author addresses different aspects of the society such as its primarily premodern economy due to stagnant industrial devlopment, slavery dependency, and its socioeconomic differnces with the more capitalist North. Genovese ties together these points by emphasizing how slavery was a way of life for southerners, so when threated by the expanding urban industry resulted in secession.
While one would assume the slave economy of the south to be capitalist , it was only a mode of production. Capitalism by definition is more about how much you make, and less about how. For the southern planters the slave economy was about the how. This is evident when the South’s economy is threatened …show more content…
The second reason for the limited productivity of slave labor was the lack of training. Most planters showed little interest in purchasing labor saving tools because it was more lucrative, in the end, to just invest in more slaves. Later, this same unenthusiastic behabior was reflected withn faced with insdustrialization. In the long run, this limited agrarian and industrial reform by hindering the maximum crop output. Because slaves were not properly trained to used the limited supply of tools, some slaves were not able to produce to their full capacity. The last and most logical reasoning behind the lack of efficiency of slave labor is the fact that the slaves are forced to be there against their will. In contrast, the free laborers are more willing to put up with the hard work and perform them efficiently because they have a monetary incentive where the slaves do not. However, it is this reason, slave labor not including monetary incentive, that slavery was so successful and affordable. The effect of the carelessness and wastefulness of slaves was low productivity. Enslavement forced the slave to give his labor unwillingly ,resulting in poor work habits that underdeveloped social and economic advances that would
While one would assume the slave economy of the south to be capitalist , it was only a mode of production. Capitalism by definition is more about how much you make, and less about how. For the southern planters the slave economy was about the how. This is evident when the South’s economy is threatened …show more content…
The second reason for the limited productivity of slave labor was the lack of training. Most planters showed little interest in purchasing labor saving tools because it was more lucrative, in the end, to just invest in more slaves. Later, this same unenthusiastic behabior was reflected withn faced with insdustrialization. In the long run, this limited agrarian and industrial reform by hindering the maximum crop output. Because slaves were not properly trained to used the limited supply of tools, some slaves were not able to produce to their full capacity. The last and most logical reasoning behind the lack of efficiency of slave labor is the fact that the slaves are forced to be there against their will. In contrast, the free laborers are more willing to put up with the hard work and perform them efficiently because they have a monetary incentive where the slaves do not. However, it is this reason, slave labor not including monetary incentive, that slavery was so successful and affordable. The effect of the carelessness and wastefulness of slaves was low productivity. Enslavement forced the slave to give his labor unwillingly ,resulting in poor work habits that underdeveloped social and economic advances that would