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Comment by wfo | Hacker News Reader

>Which economy's future would you bet on?

This isn't a good metric. Countries with slavery, for example, can easily have a stronger economy than free ones. The amount of material goods a society produces is at best tangential to notions of morality or justice.

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Are there any countries with slavery which are outperforming similarly-situated countries without slavery? AFAIK slavery is only useful in Civilization 4 (whip it! whip it good!) and IRL it is no substitute for citizenship.

The success of the United States economy was almost entirely built on slave labor. Dubai and Qatar, some of the most economically successful countries in their region, are essentially entirely built on slave labor. It is making a comeback in the US because of how efficient it is in the form of mass incarceration combined with prison labor. The inference 'economic success' -> 'morally good' is, well, horrifying. Slavery is a good counterexample but old since it's so abhorrent countries have mostly abolished it. Sweatshops are another good example.

> Dubai and Qatar, some of the most economically successful countries in their region, are essentially entirely built on slave labor.

Exactly. These massive oil reserves have nothing to do with it. /s

Exactly, you've clearly stated my original point -- economic success in countries has nothing to do with the morality of their society or culture or government. Economic success is more often than not luck of the draw and can happen to brutal slave dictatorships as much as free market democracies.

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