L
LABOR SERVICE
The Incas were unusual among preindustrial empires in relying on labor service
(mit’a) as the fundamental source of economic support for imperial activities.
While labor taxes were widely used in early empires, most of them drew upon a
mix of revenue sources, including levies of money, tribute, tax in kind, and labor
service. At the time that the Incas forged their realm, however, highland Andean
societies did not depend on money or markets, or have notions of capital,
investment, or profit (see Wealth). While aware of the use of semi-monetary
goods among the peoples whom they ultimately dominated, the Incas did not use
specie, or currency, in the state economy, instead preferring to foster
specialization in labor services. The Incas’ dependence on labor thus required the
massive mobilization of labor by both general taxpaying households and, over
time, cadres of specialists. The system worked in large part because so many
people were already skilled artisans (camayoc), who could be called on to craft
whatever material goods the state required.
The institutionalization of labor service arose from three features: (1) existing
economic practices, (2) the Incas’ rationale for the legitimacy of their rule, and
(3) an overarching concept of socialized relations between humanity and the
world. The structure of Inca labor service was grounded in widespread, and
probably long-standing, relationships within highland Andean societies. An ethic
of mutuality drove many activities within the basic corporate units (ayllu) of
those societies. Most productive resources were jointly owned, including
agricultural land, water, and pasturage; they could not be bought, sold, or
otherwise transferred. In this context, labor exchanges among families or people
of equal status (ayni) fostered networks of joint obligation and support. Between
people of different statuses, such as lord and commoner, labor service (minca)
was reciprocated by various forms of leadership, whether political, martial, or
ceremonial. As John V. Murra described in his foundational thesis on the Inca
economy, the existing relationships of inequality, in which labor was exchanged
for leadership, provided the rationale for the Inca taxation system. Taxpayers did
not render anything from the community’s resources or from their own