Modern Slavery: Kevin Bales TED2010 Talk and Slaveryfootprint.org
The most shocking statistic that I heard during TED2010 was from this talk by Kevin Bales (book: Modern Slavery) that there are twice as many modern slaves today than were transported during the entirety of the Transatlantic Slave Trade from Africa between the 16th and 19th centuries.
According to Kevin, the average cost of a human being over the last 4000 years was $40,000. Between population growth, the less-visible transformation of slavery in the last century, and the changing types of desired labor, the price has dropped drastically to roughly $90 per person today [both financial figures placed in current dollars].
To further understand the effects these modern slaves have throughout the global economy, check out Slaveryfootprint.org to understand your own global footprint in comparison with the rest of the world. I definitely learned a lot when I checked out the website.
