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Logistics and Labor
Jul. 31st, 2023 12:37 pmThe other day, I wrote a post about how Spartans Were Losers and in it I noted my source article claimed that Spartan logistics were lacking. I linked that to another country with bad logistics - the Confederacy. While doing something else over the weekend, I had some deeper thoughts which I will now share with you.
Why Slave-holding Societies Are Bad at Logistics
Reason #1 - It's Hard
Getting logistics right requires a lot of hard work, and said work is not glamorous. We remember General Grant, but don't remember his chief logistics guy. Slave societies do not reward hard work - that's what slaves do, not the slaveowners.
Reason #2 - Value of Labor
Good logistics focuses in part on reducing labor. In modern settings, that's by putting cargo on pallets and into containers as opposed to getting a bunch of guys with strong backs to shlep it around. Slave societies and those which do not value labor (modern-day Russia) aren't interested in reducing labor hours. There's always a slave or a conscript around to shlep stuff.
Reason #3 - Corruption
Slave societies tend to be much more tolerant of corruption. The whole edifice of a slave society is that the slave-holding class is more deserving of rewards than other classes. So if they take something, well, they deserve it. Again, the parallel to modern-day Russia and their oligarch infestation should be obvious.
Why Slave-holding Societies Are Bad at Logistics
Reason #1 - It's Hard
Getting logistics right requires a lot of hard work, and said work is not glamorous. We remember General Grant, but don't remember his chief logistics guy. Slave societies do not reward hard work - that's what slaves do, not the slaveowners.
Reason #2 - Value of Labor
Good logistics focuses in part on reducing labor. In modern settings, that's by putting cargo on pallets and into containers as opposed to getting a bunch of guys with strong backs to shlep it around. Slave societies and those which do not value labor (modern-day Russia) aren't interested in reducing labor hours. There's always a slave or a conscript around to shlep stuff.
Reason #3 - Corruption
Slave societies tend to be much more tolerant of corruption. The whole edifice of a slave society is that the slave-holding class is more deserving of rewards than other classes. So if they take something, well, they deserve it. Again, the parallel to modern-day Russia and their oligarch infestation should be obvious.