Economics are key here. What do people have to gain from taking certain actions on you/against you?
Also note that notions of “benevolence” have varied throughout the ages—and it has not been a monotonically increasing function!
There are times and places in this world when a lone drifter would have been—by default—“benevolently” enslaved by the authorities, but where this default action would change to “put to death” several decades later.
How well one is treated always depends on the economic and political power of the group you are associated with. Do our notions of lawful ownership match those of ancient civilizations? They do match in broad outlines, but in terms of specific artifacts, our notions diverge dramatically. If we somehow managed to clone Tutankhamen and recover his mind from the ether and re-implant it, what are the chances he’s going to get all of his stuff back?
Economics are key here. What do people have to gain from taking certain actions on you/against you?
Also note that notions of “benevolence” have varied throughout the ages—and it has not been a monotonically increasing function!
There are times and places in this world when a lone drifter would have been—by default—“benevolently” enslaved by the authorities, but where this default action would change to “put to death” several decades later.
How well one is treated always depends on the economic and political power of the group you are associated with. Do our notions of lawful ownership match those of ancient civilizations? They do match in broad outlines, but in terms of specific artifacts, our notions diverge dramatically. If we somehow managed to clone Tutankhamen and recover his mind from the ether and re-implant it, what are the chances he’s going to get all of his stuff back?