在封建农奴制度统治之下，农奴没有生产资料，生存权受到严重威胁。

　　旧西藏，占人口只有5%的三大领主(官家、贵族、寺庙上层僧侣)及其代理人，几乎占有全部的耕地、牧场、森林、山川、河流、河滩以及大部分牲畜，而占人口多达95%的农奴，包括“差巴”(领种份地，向农奴主支差役的人)、“堆穷”(意为冒烟的小户)、“朗生”(一无所有，世代为奴)，却不掌握生产资料，遭受残酷的经济剥削。

　　农奴遭受的第一重剥削是地租。在庄园里，农奴主把土地分成两部分：大部分为农奴主的自营地，一小部分是以奴役性的条件分给农奴耕种的“份地”。农奴为了领得“份地”，必须自带工具和口粮，在农奴主的自营地上无偿服劳役。这些无偿的劳动，就是缴纳给农奴主的劳役地租。而农奴在“份地”里收获的大部分粮食最终又都被领主收走了。“差巴”一年所得不过二三百斤，连糊口都不够，主要靠吃野菜和野草，再掺上一点粮食过日子。除了通过劳役缴纳沉重的地租外，农奴还必须缴纳名目繁多的税费。

Ruled by feudal serfdom under theocracy, serfs had no means of production, and their right to subsistence was under threat.

In old Tibet, the three major estate-holders and their agents accounted for only five percent of Tibet's population, but they owned almost all of Tibet's farmland, pastures, forests, mountains, rivers, and beaches, as well as most of the livestock. About 95 percent of old Tibet's population was made up of serfs, including "tralpa" as they are known in the Tibetan language (people who tilled plots of land assigned to them and who were obligated to provide corvee labor for serf owners), "duiqoin" (small households with chimneys emitting smoke), and "nangzan" (hereditary household slaves who were deprived of any means of production and personal freedom). They had no means of production and suffered cruel economic exploitation.

The first exploitation serfs suffered was land rent. Serf owners on feudal manors divided the land into two parts: The largest part was kept as manor demesne while smaller lots were rented to serfs under stringent conditions. To use the lots, serfs had to work on the demesne with their own farm implements and provide their own food. Such unpaid labor constituted the rent they paid to serf owners. Most of the grain that serfs harvested from the lots was finally taken away by estate-holders. A "tralpa" could only keep 100-150 kilograms of grain annually, which was not enough to live on; his diet mainly consisted of wild herbs and weeds mixed with a little grain. In addition to the heavy land rent paid in the form of labor, serfs had to pay numerous taxes and fees.

　　农奴遭受的第二重剥削是乌拉差。乌拉差是一种包括徭役、赋税、地(畜)租在内的含义十分广泛的差税总称。旧西藏仅地方政府征收的差税就达200多种。农奴为地方政府和庄园领主所支的差，一般要占农奴户劳动量的50%以上，有的高达70%-80%。乌拉差役又有内、外差之分。内差是农奴向直接依附的领主及其代理人支的差役。外差是农奴给西藏地方政府及其下属机构支的差役。其中农奴负担最重的是运输差。西藏地广人稀，交通不便，各种物资的运输全靠人背畜驮。农奴长年累月跋山涉水为地方政府运输物资，支差之苦正如谚语所言：“靴子无底，牛背无毛。”

　　农奴遭受的第三重剥削是高利贷。在旧西藏，三大领主都是大大小小的高利贷剥削者。西藏地方政府设有放债机构，放债、收息成为各级官员的行政职责。西藏很多寺庙也参与放债，高利贷盘剥的收入占三大寺总收入的25%-30%。贵族绝大多数也放高利贷，债息在其家庭收入中一般要占15%。农奴为了活命不得不频繁举债，欠债的农奴占农奴总数的90%以上。农奴所负的债务，形式上分为新债、子孙债、连保债、集体摊派债等等。其中1/3以上是子孙债，也称旧债，是祖祖辈辈欠下的。这种债由于利上加利，永远也还不完。

The second exploitation serfs suffered was corvee labor - a broad term covering not only corvee, but taxes and levies, and rents for land and livestock. The former local government of Tibet alone levied more than 200 kinds of taxes. Serfs had to contribute more than 50 percent or sometimes even 70 to 80 percent of their labor, unpaid, to the government and estate-holders. Corvee labor was divided into two kinds: one was that which serfs provided to the estate-holders they were bonded to and their agents; the other was the unpaid work serfs did for the local government of Tibet and its subordinates. The heaviest was transport corvee, because Tibet is large but sparsely populated and transport was inconvenient, necessitating the transport of all kinds of goods by humans or pack animals. Year after year, serfs were made to transport materials over mountains and rivers for the local government. This gave rise to the saying, "The boots have no soles, and the backs of the cattle are hairless."

The third exploitation serfs suffered was usury. In old Tibet, the three major estate-holders were all exploiters of usury. The local government of Tibet had many money-lending agencies, and lending money and collecting interest were among officials' duties. Many monasteries also participated in money-lending. Revenue from usury made up 25 to 30 percent of the total revenue of the three major monasteries, namely Drepung, Sera and Ganden. Most aristocrats were also engaged in usury, the interest of which accounted for 15 percent of their family revenues. Serfs had to borrow money to survive, and more than 90 percent of serf households were in debt. Serfs were burdened with new debts, debts passed down from previous generations, debts resulting from joint liability, and debts apportioned among all the serfs. One third of these were the debts passed down from previous generations which could never be repaid, even by succeeding generations, due to the imposition of compound interest.