The Mountains of Mourning (Vorkosigan Saga, #5.1)
by Lois McMaster Bujold
Not my first read, just recording for the first time. Is punishment the only way to show that a class of people matters and that crime against them is wrong? Wondering how abolitionists think about this - maybe it's a "master's tools, master's house" idea. Also the idea that it's only when a society is wealthy enough can people who might not be able to contribute become less of a threat, although tbh I think that might not reflect reality, sort of like how hunter-gatherers have more leisure than farmers even though farmers think the opposite.
...come to think of it, what DO the hill people do to subsist? It's not really clear in the story. Are they growing poppies for opium??? Main lady picks berries at one point; people having lots of children implies farmers perhaps.