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Sweatshops, Harm, and Interference: A Contractualist Approach

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  • Huseyin S. Kuyumcuoglu

    (Binghamton University, State University of New York)

Abstract

Activists and progressive governments sometimes interfere in the working conditions of sweatshops. Their methods may include boycotts of the products produced in these facilities, bans on the import of these products or tariffs imposed by the home country, and enforcing the host country’s laws that aim at regulating sweatshops. Some argue that such interference in sweatshop conditions is morally wrong since it may actually harm workers. The reason is that the enterprise that runs the sweatshop may choose to lay off some workers as the result of effective interference in order to maintain their profit at the desired level. If successful, this argument would prohibit any interference in sweatshop conditions on moral grounds. In this article, I argue in dissent and build a contractualist argument in favor of the moral permissibility of interference in sweatshops. I base my argument on an ex ante interpretation of T.M. Scanlon’s contractualism.

Suggested Citation

  • Huseyin S. Kuyumcuoglu, 2021. "Sweatshops, Harm, and Interference: A Contractualist Approach," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 169(1), pages 1-11, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:169:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1007_s10551-019-04302-9
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-019-04302-9
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Powell,Benjamin, 2014. "Out of Poverty," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107688933, October.
    2. Kates, Michael, 2015. "The Ethics of Sweatshops and the Limits of Choice," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 25(2), pages 191-212, April.
    3. Arnold, Denis G. & Bowie, Norman E., 2003. "Sweatshops and Respect for Persons," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 13(2), pages 221-242, April.
    4. Benjamin Powell & Matt Zwolinski, 2012. "The Ethical and Economic Case Against Sweatshop Labor: A Critical Assessment," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 107(4), pages 449-472, June.
    5. Mathew Coakley & Michael Kates, 2013. "The Ethical and Economic Case for Sweatshop Regulation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 117(3), pages 553-558, October.
    6. Powell,Benjamin, 2014. "Out of Poverty," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107029903, October.
    7. Zwolinski, Matt, 2007. "Sweatshops, Choice, and Exploitation," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 17(4), pages 689-727, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Gregorio Guitián & Alejo José G. Sison, 2023. "Offshore Outsourcing from a Catholic Social Teaching Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 185(3), pages 595-609, July.

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