Oh, such modern and un-British crudeness! The way to deal with an unsatisfactory servant in the old days was merely to discharge them without a reference. It would be almost impossible for them to find a situation again, and with no welfare state they faced destitution.
In modern times, you are right about the use of illegal aliens, who are in a weak position to resist exploitation.
discharge them without a reference… with no welfare state they faced destitution.
Isn’t that the same as kicking them out on the street without a social net?
In modern times, you are right about the use of illegal aliens, who are in a weak position to resist exploitation.
That’s true, but my point was more that being vulnerable to exploitation also leaves them vulnerable to retaliation for their actual misdeeds. You might be willing to pay your servant well, but the same factors that ensure you don’t have to pay your servant well also let you prevent your servant from stealing and breaking things.
Oh, such modern and un-British crudeness! The way to deal with an unsatisfactory servant in the old days was merely to discharge them without a reference. It would be almost impossible for them to find a situation again, and with no welfare state they faced destitution.
In modern times, you are right about the use of illegal aliens, who are in a weak position to resist exploitation.
Isn’t that the same as kicking them out on the street without a social net?
That’s true, but my point was more that being vulnerable to exploitation also leaves them vulnerable to retaliation for their actual misdeeds. You might be willing to pay your servant well, but the same factors that ensure you don’t have to pay your servant well also let you prevent your servant from stealing and breaking things.