Comedians recognize slavery
Consumers seem to accept it, while government actually encourages it
There’s no end to what you can do when you don’t give a fuck about particular people.”
–Louis CK
Louis CK is a troubled human being who says many outrageous things.
Over the weekend, I almost skipped over this old clip, but he segued into the bit above about human slavery, and I have to admit I was intrigued with his words.
“Of course, OF COURSE slavery is the worst thing that ever happened. Of course! Every time it’s happened. Black people in America, Jews in Egypt, every time a whole race of people has been enslaved, it’s a terrible, horrible thing. Of course…
“But maybe, maybe every incredible human achievement in history was done with slaves. Every single thing where you go, ‘how did they build those pyramids?’ They just threw human death and suffering at them until they were finished,” Louis CK pointed out in a rant from 12 years ago.
“How did we traverse the nation with a railroad so quickly? We just threw Chinese people in caves and blew them up and didn’t give a shit what happened to them. There’s no end to what you can do when you don’t give a fuck about particular people.”
I have written about Uber drivers, “rideshare” and slavery in the past, and sadly, the more I focus on the lives and work of drivers around the globe, the more firmly I believe that the entire system is simply the form of slavery the western world finds acceptable in the 21st century.
Because when it comes to incredible human achievements, creating a ground transportation industry in which consumers can expect instant, door-to-door transportation for less than the cost of public transit has got to rank up there with building historic pyramids and trans-continental railroads.
It used to take as long as 8 or 10 minutes for a Taxi to arrive to drive a paying passenger somewhere. That’s how long it took when there was a formula used to determine how many Vehicles for Hire (VFH) a city needed. One Taxi per 850 people meant about 5000 Taxis working in Toronto, and it took maybe 8 or 10 minutes for a cab to arrive.
By comparison, the standard was 6 minutes for an ambulance or fire truck to arrive.
In 2026, Toronto has about 200 times more VFH than it EVER thought it needed, and consumers have developed an expectation for virtually instantaneous service. When they need a ride, they won’t wait two minutes and will cancel and re-book after a tortuous, interminable 3 minute wait, which is why Toronto needs 85,000 vehicles for hire with starving drivers cruising the streets.
Because when it comes to incredible human achievements, creating a ground transportation industry in which consumers can expect instant, door-to-door transportation for less than the cost of public transit has got to rank up there with building historic pyramids and trans-continental railroads.
As Marc André Way, president of the Canadian Taxi Association points out, “The only way you can achieve service at that speed is to have a vehicle parked at the corner of every street, waiting for an order. That level of service is not sustainable.”
Of course, when you have that many drivers perched on that many corners, none of those drivers are making very much money. Of course. All of them are paying automobile expenses and earning zero dollars under Doug Ford’s “engaged time wages” scam.
None of them are earning much money, and all of them are tethered to car payments and the need to pay for housing and groceries. Of course, they’re going to compete for every shitty $5 trip Uber tosses their way, and scramble to get to the customer’s door before she impatiently cancels after a 2-minute wait. Of course.
Another comedian, Owen Benjamin, has put forward an even more controversial theory about slavery in the 21st century.
“We have free will. That’s the problem with slavery: there’s an element of an illusion to it. You have to get a person to choose to be a slave.
“So how do you get someone to choose to be a slave? Debt, and addiction,” Benjamin maintains. “An addict will do anything to get the thing they’re addicted to. And when you’re in debt, you have to pay back the loan. War gets people in tremendous debt really fast. So, what are the two biggest industries for any government or any powerful oligarch? War and drugs.
“Afghanistan, the opium war, Vietnam, all these wars, every single one of them, none of them have to do with anything that they’re saying they’re for. It’s about debt collection. That’s it. It’s all about a balance sheet: World War I, World War II, all of it; debt, and drugs.”
Debt and addiction are the persuasive narratives used to make people believe they must work as slaves? Interesting thought.
“If you are debt-free and not addicted, you are free,” Benjamin points out. “No one can control you.” I find it ironic that comedians are recognizing and calling out slavery for what it is, while our elected representatives and mainstream media remain oblivious.
Sadly, there are not many debt-free Uber drivers and “up front pricing” has turned out to actually mean “gamified, addictive algorithm.” “Up front pricing” is a perfect example of the magical narrative words that persuade people working as slaves that they are not actually slaves.
When I started interviewing Taxi operators in 1985, they were independent business owners. This was when everyone expected a Taxi to take 8 or 9 minutes to arrive and that the driver would be paid enough to keep a decent car on the road AND eat and live indoors.
In 2026, Uber drivers are sad, harried, indebted basket cases. But here’s the really sad, disturbing part: consumers are perfectly alright with having drivers mired in poverty and stress, so long as their ride is as fast as an ambulance and as cheap as the bus.
It appears Louis CK is right: there’s no end to what you can do when you don’t give a fuck about particular people. That’s where human greatness comes from… there’s no end to what you can do when you don’t give a fuck about particular people.”
