Page:The Evolution of Industrial Democracy (Woodruff).pdf/10

 better view of him than the study of Technology. The tools he left behind him tell us clearly of his progress. At first, the "stone age" and then, after the discovery of fire, the "age of bronze"; and always the tools and processes were being improved.

One of the most important changes in human society was the introduction of slavery—a result directly traceable to the improvement of the tools and processes in agriculture. In savage times the bodies of prisoners taken in battle were sometimes eaten by the victors, but when barbarism came into vogue and it was found that a man could produce from the earth more than enough to feed himself these prisoners were enslaved. They were the property of the tribe and, as such, produced for the tribe. But when private property came into existence it was quite normal that the slaves should also become private property. Indeed, so profitable was the labor of slaves that, in the course of time, we find nations waging war to enslave other nations. There is little doubt that the Gallic Wars waged by Julius Caesar were none other than great looting and man hunting expeditions; the plunder of goods and people being sold in the auction rooms and slave markets of Imperial Rome.

In the savage state the increase of population was very slow, for man was just beginning to conquer his environment. Under barbarism man is coming into his own, and the increase in population is hastened; while under the Chattel Slave System, with a greater food supply, the population steadily increases. Invention introduces improved weapons, tools and processes. The slaves in agriculture and the handicrafts produce in abundance. Tribes expand into nations. Petty chieftains become kings. Wars are waged for territory and slaves. Barter and exchange become domestic trade, which, in turn, grows into commerce and banking. The slave owners have wealth and luxury. There is a leisured class which has time for culture; and art, poetry,