The points made by Paul Cockshott and Jim Devine, regarding
the differences between slavery and capitalism, are well
taken. Nontheless, I don't think it would be an oxymoron to
describe the system of the antebellum South as "slave
capitalism". This is because (a) there existed a well-
developed market and trade in slaves, and (b) the output of
slave labor took the commodity-form to a large degree (on
the big plantations at any rate). That is, the plantations
partook of the circuit M-C-M', with the "C" taking the form
of slaves and inanimate means of production rather than
labor-power and means of production.
Whether slave capitalism could have existed as a mode of
production in its own right, or whether it was inherently
parasitic on "regular" capitalism, is another matter. Some
of Paul's points suggest the latter (i.e. the internal
market within the slave system would have been too
restricted).
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Allin Cottrell
Department of Economics
Wake Forest University
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
(910) 759-5762
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