STO: Well meant and unintentional slavery

[Lavazza]

What would you say it means to be a slave? I have been framing it in terms of forced response, which would appear to be by definition a violation of free will.

I may be getting lost in semantics here, but for me to use the word slavery in the context of western life is highly inappropriate. The term has an emotional component and brings to my mind images and concepts that are completely outside of my experience. To be a slave in my view is to have almost all of your freewill abridged on a constant basis. Thinking of black people in America 200 or so years ago, Central American Indians who were enslaved by Columbus and friends, prisoners of war in ancient Asia whom were forced to work until death- also Jews in concentration camps. To me that is what it means to be a slave- having nearly no free choice and being forced until the will of another.

That one does not have the freedom to legally drive without a drivers license does not make that person a slave. It's just not the right word for the situation. Furthermore, if we do not agree with the law about having to have a drivers license we are free not to drive, or maybe move to another country where it isn't illegal. A true slave would have no other alternative but to obtain a drivers' license.