Slavery and Social Death

Slavery and Social Death: A Comparative Study (1982) is an academic book by Harvard University sociologist Orlando Patterson. The author’s area of focus is the internal and external dynamics of slavery. His groundbreaking study, compiled in this book, looks at instances of slavery in every type of society where slavery has been found, including medieval Europe, the Islamic Kingdoms, the Caribbean Islands, and the American South, among many others—sixty-six societies in total.

Patterson describes two distinct styles of slavery that predominate the world. The first style is one where slavery served great structural significance in a given culture, meaning that it was a key institution for the society, making up a great part of the economy, culture, and political life. The pre-Civil War southern United States along with ancient Greece and Rome are examples of this. Patterson demonstrates how slavery was key in defining the identity of such societies. The second style of slavery is less invasive, less of an institution, but still demonstrates violence towards a particular group of people that permeates the daily life of society. Examples of this can be found in Aztec civilizations and the Kingdom of Judah’s treatment of Hebrews.

According to Patterson, all instances of slavery contain three principal features. The first is the element of power enforced through coercion. Even under disguise, this absolute use of forceful power is always present. Second is “natal alienation” (Patterson’s term), which means that the slaves are excluded from the social order and disowned of any rights belonging inherently to other members of that society. The third feature is the constant dishonoring of the slave by explicit behaviors that communicate to him or her that they are completely powerless.



Power and honor go together in this study. Even in cases where a slave appears powerful, such as the slaves in the Ottoman Empire, whom, at times, the master must depend upon, there is still the underlying knowledge that any power the slave possesses can be removed at any time. Patterson introduces Hegelian concepts throughout the work, which include the idea that a master needs a slave in order to recognize himself. However, the power of the master and his or her ability to remove a slave’s honor is what keeps slavery the dehumanizing institution that it is.

Patterson pays little attention to slavery as a race issue or as an issue of property or ownership. He does this in order to emphasize the importance of power and freedom as core issues in the dynamic of slavery.

Patterson believes “social death” is the defining feature of slavery in all civilizations. It begins with the capturing of the slave—the process of taking the personality and self-worthiness of a person. Although the slave is not physically killed, it is understood that if the slave tries to be anything other than what he has been made, death is next. Therefore, the slave is socially dead. This social death has both a psychological and physical consequence. The physical consequence includes the loss of personal belongings and sometimes even the stamping or branding of the skin by the owner. The psychological piece occurs as the slave is rejected by any heritage that might give him an identity to grasp.
The slave master, on the other hand, by owning the slave, swallows the identity of the slave and achieves an elevated social status. The slave becomes more likely to self-blame when violence is done to him since he has no worth and the owner holds all the power. There is no ego or identity to fight back with after a slave’s social death.



There is a controversial paradox at the heart of Slavery and Social Death. Patterson attempts to argue that, although slavery is an abominable part of the history of the world, it has served a purpose: it taught human beings the meaning of freedom. Without slavery, without rights being taken away from a select group, there would be no such thing as freedom to strive towards.

Critics of Patterson’s work dislike his unwillingness to compare slaves with other mistreated and marginalized groups such as women, criminals, indentured servants, or others who are often deemed the “property” of others. His adamancy that slavery encompasses more than just a “people as property” comparison prohibits this idea.

Besides Patterson’s interest in the dynamics of slavery, he has also focused much of his studies on the youth of Caribbean and African-American cultures, as well as putting some focus on sports such as cricket. He helped to found the organization Cultural Survival, which advocates for the rights of indigenous populations. He’s written columns for The New York Times and in 1991, won the National Book Award for his book Freedom in the Making of Western Culture.