People owning other people isn’t something new. It’s been happening for many thousands of years.
Some “slaves” are captured in war (POW’s). As in all wars, the winner dictates what the loser will do (live, die, become slaves, etc.). Although we like to think of ourselves as “civilized”, this practice still goes on today.
Some people have no choice but to be “slaves” to another. They get so far in debt that they literally have to sell themselves. Our modern day employee/employer is (to some extent) a form of this. People sell themselves as servants (employees) to a master (employer) in exchange for money. Of course, these days we have a myriad of rules and regulations about employee/employer relationships (cans and cants), but that’s not how it’s always been.
Sadly, there are people who get their jollies off controlling (dominating) other people. They get “high” off their power and authority. The longer they have control, the more they believe that they are better than those “beneath” them. Soon, their “servants” are no longer seen as human beings, but rather things to be used and abused, property to be exploited, and commodities to be bought and sold as desired. These people then teach their children (by words and actions) that slavery is simply how things are. Soon it is just taken for granted that certain people (perhaps of different color, gender, race) are not “people”.
The truth is, no person (nationality, creed, color, gender) is “lower” (or higher) than any other person. However, by telling ourselves that’s not true, we can justify our treating then differently.
Shuhak 