Speaker
Description
This paper proposes to reassess Smith’s historical analysis of the condition of women and slaves in LJ. Unfortunately, these sections have not received the scholarly attention they deserve. Under the earliest form of marriage discussed by Smith, polygamy, ‘the wife is intirely the slave of the husband, and has no more interest in his affairs than any other slave’ (Smith, LJA, p. 160). In shepherding societies, women therefore occupied the same rank as slaves. Smith thought the development of the respective condition of women and slaves diverged significantly after this point. Whereas the condition of women improved drastically and they held a rank in the family similar to their husbands in Rome, slaves were treated worse as society progressed: Romans, Smith claimed, ‘would feed their fish with the bodies of their slaves’ (Smith, LJA, p. 184). Intriguingly, the increasing opulence of society (in this case, Rome) was the reason both for the improvement of the condition of women and the drastic worsening of the treatment of slaves. This paper will reflect on Smith’s reasons for why one marginalised group (women) benefitted from socio-economic development, whereas another marginalised group (slaves) did not. Shedding light on this matter brings Smith closer to Montesquieu, for whom the condition of women was important marker for society at large, and who also discussed the impact of economic inequality on the treatment of slaves.
| Organization | University of Cambridge |
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