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Pastimes : Kosovo -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: D. Long who wrote (9730)	5/25/1999 12:55:00 AM
From: Brumar89	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 17770

You're right to point out that slave labor wasn't free or even cheap. The slave owners had to feed, clothe, house, and doctor the slaves though they didn't have to do any of this well. But there were other costs. Management costs (hired overseers/foremen) of slave labor were higher than for free labor. In addition, I believe, the problem of dealing with runaway slaves was likely a significant cost. When a slave ran away, the capital invested in him was gone if he wasn't recovered. And recovery was expensive too - the expense of tracking down the runaway, capturing him, and returning him had to be borne. So why was such an inefficient system perpetuated? I can't answer this except to say people don't always act in accordance with their rational self-interest.