Working and living conditions could be improved in Pitt if Ashur wanted. Happier, more effective workers and less like slaves. What was the reason not, though? If just sadism was the reason, what was the point of giving out freedom by winning cage fights (which was to give hope to the workers)?

The fights are purely for the entertainment of the slavers and Ashur.

If so, why was freedom given to the victor?

So the workers would put up a fight and work for a victory again to make things more interesting.

I'm sure survival is a good enough reason to put up a fight as it is. And Ashur didn't have to go with that long, dumb speech about how they were workers and not slaves.

Just stating my opinions there Eddo.

Me as well. Pointing out contradiction in game.

Well, the game explained that the reason for all this was having to constantly work with the threat of Trogs, caused by the city's proximity to multiple heavily-contaminated (not to mention irradiated) rivers making it so risky. The reward for working being mere survival, and pretty harsh survival at that, meant volunteers were scarce to nonexistent- forcing use of slaves if anything was to ever get done.

There are many in Fallout 3, sad to say.

Well I'm not talking about forcing slaves to work, but rather wondering why weren't living conditions improved for those slaves?

Better beds, foods, regular breaks, no random executions by Pitt Raiders, etc.

I pretty much mean in Ashur's view: it's alright to force them to do needed work, but why not also treat them as human beings?

Because there wasn't the extra time to waste- keeping workforce numbers up at all was constantly feeding a meat grinder as you had losses to Trog attacks, losses to slaves becoming Trogs themselves, plus the (minor in comparison) random execution by sadistic Pitt Raiders.

My point is it took every bit of manpower Ashur could come up just to "break even," and couldn't spare the labor. "Hey, to hell with Ronto's latest scouting parties, let's shut the Ammo Presses down and build some nice clean dorms for the sla...er, workers!"

Well if the workers were dying due to the bad conditions, Ashur would have less manpower to spare for anything.

Healthier workers with higher moral = more productivity

The Pitt is a contaminated area......there is no way Ashur can afford to raise the living standards of the 'workers', his security staff is made up of raider scum and his workers are irradiated slaves eating contaminated food. The security's living conditions aren't much better than the slaves, basically Ashur has to import all his food and water (or everybody has to eat trog meat).....he might as well import fresh slaves as well, rather than adding a few years onto the lives of the slaves who will become trogs whatever he does.

The Pitt is a losing proposition, without Ashur it will go back to what it was pre-Brotherhood cleansing, the only reason to stay is the steelworks and even then no local settlement can survive (without a supply of expendable workers) since they lack a source of pure water and uncontaminated food.

No Ashur doesn't import food, the slaves eat slop. But Ashur could import in radiation suits and stimpaks, etc. With the ammo press, I'm sure he has the money to trade.

Bottom line is that it shouldn't be too hard to improve living conditions a bit to not make it the hellhole it is, and may be beneficial.