It seems to me that a large middle class consumer base is the hallmark of a developed nation. Smaller middle classes always mean a smaller economy, and a shrinking middle class is aways a sign of serious economic trouble.
Also, it seems that on the average, wlaves would be less motivated workers than workers in a hardcore communist state.
So to me it seems that a state which extracts any significant number of people and puts them in a slave state is going to do badly compared to an entirely free nation. And the greater the percentage of slaves, the worse it'll do. Even if there is an economic advantage to an individual in using slave labour, that may well be paid for on the society vs. society level.
Of course, that might not matter if all nations are slave states.
Also, it seems that on the average, wlaves would be less motivated workers than workers in a hardcore communist state.
So to me it seems that a state which extracts any significant number of people and puts them in a slave state is going to do badly compared to an entirely free nation. And the greater the percentage of slaves, the worse it'll do. Even if there is an economic advantage to an individual in using slave labour, that may well be paid for on the society vs. society level.
Of course, that might not matter if all nations are slave states.