Short Answer Questions for
Disposable People

Answer the following questions with one to two concise sentences USING YOUR OWN WORDS. If you find yourself copying the language of the author, you may not understand the material thoroughly yet. Reread the relevant passages carefully or contact us to ask questions.

Question 4, however, deserves at least a paragraph in response.

1) Why is the new slavery more profitable for slaveholders now than was slavery for American or Brazilian slaveowners in the nineteenth century?

2) Why does race place a much diminished role in the new slavery as compared to the old, and how does this change make slaves less expensive now than they were in the American South before 1860?

3) In what ways are we as consumers in America deeply involved in the new slavery? Another way to think about this question might be, "How do you benefit from slavery?"

4) On pages 8 - 9, the author (conservatively) estimates that there are 27 million slaves in the world today -- a number roughly in line with official United Nations estimates. What, in your opinion, might explain why there is so little public discussion of contemporary slavery (it's often news, for example, to many John Jay students), particulary given the justifiably significant attention devoted to the 14 million enslaved Africans kidnapped during the era of Transatlantic slave trade?

(if you are interested in other forms of contemporary slavery grounded in cultural practice rather than economics, you may be interested in this article on ritual or trocossi slavery in Ghana)