Slavery

Slavery is egregiously wrong in any moral framework. At root, it was a means for wealthy businessman to have a source of cheap (free!) labor. In this sense, slavery still exists, and will continue to exist, as long as business can find ways to manipulate human social circumstances to find low cost labor. Fast food workers don’t make a living wage. Many foreign workers work long hours for little in unsafe work places. Women are exploited as sex workers.

A moral code should demand respect and fairness for the workers who make business viable. Yet workers often get the leavings after the higher management and the investors take their winnings.

Low paid workers may be doing better than if they had no jobs, but there is often little humanity in the business decisions that hire them. High end fashion, expensive athletic shoes and many other products we purchase day-to day are made affordable on the backs of cheap labor. As consumers, we have a role in making what’s right for worker trump what’s right for profits.