Acemoglu and Robinson are less interested in the details of Spanish plunder than the kind of society that emerges from such plundering. The
encomienda and
mita systems didn’t disappear over time: rather, they transformed into other systems that still exist in the present. The disparities between Acomayo and Calca show that the
mita system impoverished the places that were forced to participate in it. This makes sense: a large portion of the region’s workers were periodically forced into slavery-like conditions far from home. Not only did this reduce the workforce at home, but it also made it more difficult for people to plan their long-term economic future, since they could be drafted into the
mita at any time. Furthermore, it decreased their motivation to innovate and build wealth, considering that, no matter how wealthy they became, they would still have to join the
mita and would never have true economic rights on par with the Spanish.