@angusm In the MAGA imagination, there's a large urban population who do nothing but drugs. As a result, MAGA thought holds that re-enslaving them to perform agricultural labour would be doing them a favour and only foolish leftist nonsense about human rights prevents this sensible solution.

This is not quite the same thing as the "enslave every leftist" take or the "food crisis = infinite authority (because everyone will panic)" take, but all three sets of ideas slosh around together.

@cstross @Nazani @graydon @angusm Once again 1750s are a better fit for their goals—indentured servitude is still a thing (for whites from bad countries and criminals) and slavery (still a penalty for certain crimes.) The "forced good works shrive the soul" idea was absolutely present, and the vindictive corner of empowered white justice was running most things.

White criminals from the cities get sent to prison labor for shorter terms (indenture) and black criminals get stacked sentences that amount of life in service. All it takes is different sentencing practices, and they get their free labor.

@sysadmin1138 @cstross @Nazani @angusm Their _directly profitable_ labour. The idea is, was, and ever shall be, world without end, amen, to have all the money; God's love may be infinite but the material manifestation of it is not and they want all of it for them specifically. (Perpetually trembling on the brink of self-awareness, your default mammonite.)

The US is one tiny change in the law away from debt peonage, too, and it's already corporate policy that they have it.

@cstross @sysadmin1138 @Nazani @angusm Classically, the mechanism was making debt hereditary.

It's not, presently, but most companies will try to get you to pay the debts of a dead relative and it often works because people don't necessarily know debt isn't hereditary.

I have no idea if a "debt is hereditary" or a "never-a-borrower-nor-a-lender-be no personal bankruptcy" law is easier to get past this USSC, but I'm sure there are folks in the financial sector with opinions.