In life, circumstances arise in which a particular phenomenon suddenly reveals itself with complete clarity, in all its beauty and magnificence. Just recently, the Ministry of Health gifted us with a bill stipulating that the state can, so to speak, automatically lay claim to the organs of the deceased. Someone dies—the state determines the usefulness of their remains and puts the healthy organs to use for the benefit of society. To convince the state otherwise requires special effort.
So—this story is an excellent illustration of whom the state considers us to be and whom we actually are in most interactions with it. We are talking about slavery.
Property begins with ownership of one’s own body, with the right to dispose of oneself. It is no coincidence that in traditional law, a person’s property is considered an extension of their personhood. A person who cannot dispose of their body at their own discretion is the property of another person—that is, a slave.
At the same time, I want to remind you that slavery does not necessarily mean backbreaking labor on some plantation. Often slaves felt quite well and lived perfectly decent lives—but up to a certain point, until the owner had thoughts about more productive use of the labor force.
When a free person dies, the care of their body passes to relatives. Their property also passes to them (if they did not bequeath it otherwise). In our case, the state makes it clear whom we are from its perspective. It, as it were, allows us to use our bodies a little during our lifetime within some limits it permits, but after death the body returns to the owner.
And the owner is free to do whatever they want with it. That is, organs are just one possibility. They can make you into sausage, and boil jellied meat from your bones—why let good stuff go to waste? As a last resort, a compost pit is also a source of great public benefit. And, incidentally, it is only a short step from there to the next logical step—property of the deceased. If the state owns the body, then it owns all the rest of the property. By default.
I understand that utilitarians will now begin to reason along the lines of “the deceased doesn’t need their body anymore, but their kidneys will save someone’s life!” These arguments change nothing about the essence of what is happening. The whole question is who decides—“should” or “shouldn’t.” If someone else decides instead of the owner, that is what is called slavery.
It seems to me that the information about this wonderful bill from the Ministry of Health can be a kind of test for slavery. After all, slavery is, above all, in the head. For it to work, the slave must consider their condition normal and the lawful order of things. If, reading this news, you were outraged—then everything is fine, healthy human instincts worked. But if you think that this is how it should be, then it’s time to think. First of all, you urgently need to stop watching television.