$90 could buy you a slave [business]

Slave girl making bricks.

Kevin Bales, a modern-day slavery expert and President of the Free the Slaves organization, has said in a TED talk that due to a boom in the world’s population, slave prices are at a historic low. Whereas two centuries ago a slave would have cost $40,000 (adjusted price), today you could get one for as little as $90 (on average).

And by “slaves” I don’t mean sweatshop workers who are paid slave wages but could quit their job at any time, or people with good jobs who work for over 15 hours a day. I’m referring to those people who are forced to work under the threat of violence, often with no pay. Yeah, those (still) exist.

At this very moment, between 12 million and 30 million slaves are working around the world. That’s according to low and high estimates from sociologists and the International Labor Organization. – CNN

I don’t know about you, but those numbers shocked me.

To learn more about the subject, watch Kevin’s TED talk on slavery.