Lets say ten slave owners own about a thousand slaves and they get X amount of work done when fed well.
Those same slaves are fed well enough to think and organize, and they are fed well enough to be optimistic and strong enough to fight.
10 against 1000 is what that would look like if somehow your slaves got out of control.
OR, you could employ 2000 slaves and feed them half as much, you get the same amount of work done with half the productivity... and in exchange, your people are too starved to think straight, they all have brainfog, they are too starved to be optimistic, too unhealthy and weak to fight. It sort of like cushioning yourself against the risk.
Maybe not, but think about it this way:
Lets say ten slave owners own about a thousand slaves and they get X amount of work done when fed well.
Those same slaves are fed well enough to think and organize, and they are fed well enough to be optimistic and strong enough to fight.
10 against 1000 is what that would look like if somehow your slaves got out of control.
OR, you could employ 2000 slaves and feed them half as much, you get the same amount of work done with half the productivity... and in exchange, your people are too starved to think straight, they all have brainfog, they are too starved to be optimistic, too unhealthy and weak to fight. It sort of like cushioning yourself against the risk.
You are an expert slaver.