Abstract

In this introductory essay, the author starts from observing that today slavery not only appears in public discourse as an institution of the past, but even as an "aberration" of history: in this view, the disappearance of slavery corresponds to the birth of modernity, founded on human rights, on the equal dignity of every person and on democracy. However, slavery is still with us, as it is shown by every day media reports on cases of slavery around the world, even in the West. For this reason, in the opinion of the author, if one wants to understand the contemporary forms of slavery, it is necessary to analyze the phenomenon in a broader and historical perspective.