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In his speech Wednesday at the annual conference of the Trades Union Congress in Manchester, England, the archbishop was only slightly less apocalyptic, and more specific.

He described the so-called gig economy, defined by temporary and independent work, as a modern manifestation of industrial-era oppression of workers.

“The gig economy’s zero-hours contract is nothing new,” Welby said. “It is simply the reincarnation of an ancient evil.”

The archbishop suggested that Amazon’s business practices demonstrated the perils of lax economic rules justified in the name of flexibility and innovation.

“When vast companies like Amazon and other online traders – the new industries – can get away with paying almost nothing in tax, there is something wrong with the tax system,” he said.

Photo by CHRIS J RATCLIFFE/AFP/Getty Images

He also criticized the company’s treatment of its workers, saying, “They don’t pay a real living wage, so the taxpayer must support their workers with benefits.” The accusation echoes claims made by Sanders, who said last month: “Bottom line: the taxpayers of this country should not have to subsidize employees at a company owned by Mr. Bezos who is worth $155 billion.”

The archbishop said the damage was not just to individual workers but to the communities in which they live.

“Having leeched off the taxpayer once,” he alleged, “they don’t pay for our defense, for security, for equality, for justice, for health, for equality, for education. Then they complain of an undertrained workforce from the education they have not paid for.”