Note 136 — Chapter IV · AGRICULTURAL TRIBES.

The conclusion we have arrived at is that the appropriation of the soil is a factor of great importance in shaping the social life of agricultural peoples136. When all land is held as property, a class of people destitute of the means of subsistence is likely soon to arise; such people must seek employment and live on the wages they can earn. But in countries where there is still free land, a class of free agricultural labourers dependent on wages does not exist; therefore in such countries the landowners often resort to slavery as a means of procuring labourers. Generally speaking, slavery as an industrial system can only exist where there is still free land.