What is Hegels master/slave dialectic?

Context
The Master/Slave dialectic is drawn from a small early

section of The Phenomenology of Spirit The books chief aim is to examine the development of consciousness as it moves towards absolute knowledge. The preceding section examines the earliest stage of consciousness the Master/Slave dialectic comes as we move into self-conciousness The Dialectic is essentially an abstract myth about the meeting of two consciences and how this is necessary to create self-conciousness and advance onto higher stages of conciousness. Most major scholarly opinion see the Dialectic as having little to do with modern racial slavery.

The Process
Consciousness begins in isolation and can purely exert its

will on objects to turn them into a means to satisfy their desire. In this state consciousness exists as pure being for self, essentially pure negative freedom. Free from the influence of others. When two consciousnesses such as this meet they necessarily collide in a life and death struggle when each demands of the other recognition of its freedom. Out of this for fear of death one will submit as the slave (bondsman) and the other will succeed as the Master (slave)

The Process 2
Yet in becoming a slave, the slave is tasked with doing the

productive tasks of the Master. In this the slave finds expression for a degree of freedom by transforming things. The slave has the power of giving objective expression to his freedom where the Master remains only in a state of negation which is based on consumption and not creation. At the same time out of the slaves fear of death a new and abstract concept of oneself is created to allow him to return to a state of being for self This is a result of the slave serving under pain of death and consequently being able to envisage himself as being nothing now. By glimpsing their death they can gain a renewed consciousness of themselves, as nothingness maintained in being.

The Process 3
While the Masters being for self is expressed still through

unrestrained desire. For the slave it is inward and mute yet radically transforms the understanding of their own labour. As the slave can begin to see that real life can only come through the negation of his enslaved condition. It is a double negation, their condition is the negation of life and to reclaim life they must negate this negation. This allows the slave to begin to see himself as more than just a slave. By fusing the ability to transform objects with a renewed sense of being for self a new understanding of freedom is created that supersedes the Masters narrow understanding of freedom through negation.

Conclusion
Out of this new state of consciousness the Slave still

recognizes themselves as is in servitude to the Master. Yet this consciousness opens up the prospect of a renewed conflict of recognition with the Master. The slaves concept of self is a more advanced understanding of freedom and marks a transition to a new shape of consciousness. For Hegel atleast this marks a progression into the next stage of consciousness that will eventually evolve even further to reach Absolute Knowing.