Mansfield Park is the first of Austen's novels to so overtly address the slave trade, and makes a point of mentioning that Sir Thomas Bertram's wealth is built on slave labor and property in Antigua (page 6). The theme of wealth built on the abuse of others is not a new phenomena, nor is it something that has since disappeared. Sir Thomas' human rights abuses, and the abuses of the real upper class landowners which he represents, can be connected to similar human rights abuses by corporations today. There are countless examples of such abuses being tied to even well known companies like
Apple, or Walmart. These abuses range from wage discrimination to ties to child labor and slavery. Unfortunately, the sorts of evils that Austen alludes to in Mansfield Park have not gone away, and continue to be issues in our society.
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