Today, we often forget that Saint-Domingue (present-day Haiti) was once likely the richest place in the world. Yet this not because of its slave system, but despite it. To understand Smith’s argument here, it’s essential to remember his other comments about slavery—which he views as not just immoral and inhumane, but also deeply inefficient. Specifically, he complains that enslaved people have no rights and reap no benefits from economic growth, while planters are generally more interested in power, domination, and abuse than efficient management. As a result, productivity is relatively low and seldom improves. This is just like how serfdom prevented Europe’s economies from growing for centuries. Ironically, Smith concludes that slavery is such a brutal and inefficient system that the rule of law is actually
disadvantageous in slave societies, as only corrupt judges can offer enslaved people the rights and protections they deserve (and that encourage them to work harder).