Episode

"Surprising facts about the slave trade" by Joseph Miller

Podcast
LessWrong (Curated & Popular)
Published
Jun 26, 2026
Duration seconds
769
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Summary

1. The obstacle to abolition was not the economic system, but an industry lobby. I had always imagined the British abolitionist movement to be a broad battle between an unstoppable moral imperative and an immovable economic incentive. But in practice it started as more of a knife fight between a cabal of moral pioneers and a special interest group representing industry merchants. The government and the political parties did not come in with any great agenda. MPs were mostly prizes in a ...