The infamous NYT 1619 Project postulates that America’s success is the result of using slavery. They point to Rome and ask when was there societal advancement without slaves? How many wars of the past were fought just to get slaves for the conquerors? Slaves laid the foundation of everything, they say. However, change the definition of “slave” only a tiny bit, and many people today live the lives of slaves: Minimum Wage jobs; prostitution; family obligations. Most people are constantly at the beck & call of someone: we’re all slaves in some way or another.

But actually, America’s success was due to liberty, not slavery, otherwise South America would have been successful too since they imported 10x more slaves. If serfs & peons are the equivalent of slaves then all of the Middle East, Russia & China would have been successful long ago, not to mention Africa itself; and liberty is the result of ideology and happenstance. America obtained success despite slavery, not because of it.