Precarized Slavery

A conceptual extension of precarity into the logic of modern exploitation, where even forms of unfreedom become temporary, contingent, and outsourced. Unlike chattel slavery (lifelong ownership) or wage slavery (structural dependence), precarized slavery describes situations where individuals are bound by debt, legal status, or coercive contracts that can be terminated or transferred at will, leaving them even more vulnerable. Examples include migrant workers on time‑limited visas, indebted laborers in supply chains, or prisoners leased to corporations. The precarity of their bondage adds an extra layer of control: the constant threat of deportation, contract non‑renewal, or debt acceleration.

Example: “The farmworkers were housed in company barracks, owed money to the recruiter, and could be fired and evicted the same day. Precarized slavery: the whip replaced by the constant threat of being discarded.”

Precarized Slavery by Abzugal April 20, 2026