The workers were provided
with the necessaries and a few crumbs of comfort.
Private property and property law supported by state power
institutionalized a basic division in every civilization. One segment of
a civilized community enjoyed wealth and power; other segments produced
goods and performed services. The owners were rich; the producers were
poor. Riches side by side with poverty are characteristic features of a
civilized society.
Exploitation has been the economic backbone of every civilization from
earliest times to the present day. Each civilization has exploited and
used up its natural resources. In every civilization individuals,
groups, classes and sometimes castes have exploited or used up fellow
humans and fellow creatures to suit their own purposes and advance their
own interests.
Abraham Lincoln gave a classical definition of human exploitation in a
simple sentence: "It is the principal that says you work and toil and
earn bread and I will eat it."
Exploitation of nature and of fellow beings by man began long before
written history. During periods of civilization, and notably in
present-day civilization, exploitation has determined social
relationships. It has also become one of the pillars of every civilized
community.
Civilized peoples use up natural resources as a matter of course. The
more advanced technically have stripped their environments of
replaceable and irreplaceable resources.
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