Slavery has been practiced throughout human history and throughout the world (). Historically, the first serious opposition to the slave trade arose in Western culture of the nineteenth century, specifically among the proponents of liberalism, the political philosophy that espouses individual freedom. (Here we use the term "liberalism" in the sense that has been accepted throughout its history and throughout the world, except in the epistemologically muddled arena of contemporary American politics. The concepts of freedom and liberalism will be justified and developed in detail in Section 5.) Long after liberalism brought emancipation to some countries, slavery continued to be accepted in parts of Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Although rare in today's world, it still crops us sporadically in areas such as India, Brazil, and (reportedly) the agrarian South in the United States. Such atavistic appearances may become more common if liberalism gives way to statist reaction, leading to a reversion to precapitalistic conditions in some countries. Although slavery has few public defenders today, our analysis of the institution will be especially useful because it will shed light on the other forms of involuntary servitude discussed here.     

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