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Comment by peter123 | Hacker News Reader

It's not slavery if one is willing to be enslaved.

There's a reason that freedom is usually held to be an 'inalienable right' (one that can't be sold). Even if, theoretically, it might benefit someone to sell their freedom, its too dangerous to allow such a transaction to be considered legitimate.

Even if, theoretically, it might benefit someone to sell their freedom, its too dangerous to allow such a transaction to be considered legitimate.

That is simply untrue. We sell our freedoms all the time. I sell big chunks of mine in two-week increments when I work; I sell my freedom for other times when I go home to an apartment where there are certain limits on my behavior.

There is an implicit quantifier in the phrase 'sell their freedom'. You read 'any', I meant 'all'.

Right. If you're okay with selling it in increments, but not selling all of it, there's probably a cutoff. And your cutoff is probably lower than 99%.

I downvoted because I believe that slavery can be created as a best alternative. Imagine if someone said to a starving person, "If you become a slave you'll have food every day."

That person may become a slave by choice, but only at the loss of freedom. Because the negative ramifications of slavery are not presented to the potential slave, they are making a choice with limited information.

"Its not stealing if you don't get caught" bullshit!

More like "it's not rape if they consent".

Arguably it would be slavery if they agreed at first and then decided they wanted out, but the statement is not obviously bullshit.

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