Primary Causes of Slavery Problem in the World Today - Essay Example

Slavery Slavery is defined as the of being controlled by the will of another individual. The phenomenon has existed throughout human history and can be traced back to the days of antiquity. Back then, it provided a vehicle that drove the economic cycle of production. Slaves then provided their masters with the most important factor of production, that is, labor. Slavery was common during all times including the early civilizations, dark ages, and the colonial era. Chattel slavery, as it is called, was quite prevalent where slaves were regarded as possessions owned by their masters. Slaves participated in activities ranging from agriculture to menial labor. Although traditional forms of slavery such as chattel slavery was abolished towards the early 20th century in 1807 under the Slave Trade Act, new forms of slavery have emerged that virtually implement similar bounds to human freedom as slavery (O’Brien, 7). Human trafficking, bonded labor, and child labor are a few examples of modern slavery that limit the rights of the affected individuals. The issue has expanded so much that it has become a global concern due to its widespread outreach. To a great extent, slavery is harbored by liberal capitalism, globalization, and restrictive immigration policies. Globalization coupled with a liberal capitalistic economy has promoted modern versions of slavery in unanticipated ways. To date, contemporary forms of slavery have been influenced mostly by the economic system and ethical solutions such as policy making can help solve the issue (OBrien, 7-10). Capitalization has played a vital role in consolidating slavery and globalization has aided such capitalistic endeavors. In his article, Anker has explained the root causes of slavery as they are embedded within capitalism and globalization of economy, which work together to make people vulnerable and impoverish societies. Much of the world operates on a capitalistic economy and to be more specific, neo-liberal forms of capitalistic economies exist in most of the developed countries today. The desire to expand operations internationally in a capitalistic environment has had its adverse implications. Large segments of the population have been impoverished by giant multinational organizations. This has resulted in increased dependency, which itself is a central cause of potential enslavement. The hypocrisy lies in the neo-liberal capitalistic economy which is driven by a thirst for profit maximization. Subsequently, globalization, as a global trend, has facilitated large multinational giants to achieve a competitive advantage by contracting suppliers from emerging markets. Since the emerging markets have necessarily cheap labor costs, the move appears profitable to the multinational giants ultimately raising their profit margins. As a result, the capitalistic company enjoys cheap labor and production costs and hence, higher profits. While the multinational company benefits in terms of monetary revenues, the workers based in the developed countries suffer a loss. This is not only responsible for limiting the freedom of labor but it also introduces social inequality (Anker, 8) Globalization acts as a tool for capitalistic producers to influence the labor market. Anker explains that globalization lays an economic pressure on the producers (Anker, 8). This pressure eventually impacts the factors of production and most importantly, labor. The result is a reduction in the wage rate in the labor market and hence, cheap labor costs for the capitalistic multinational giant. Ultimately, laborers are drawn into slavery due to the pressure exerted by the producers. Many laborers who migrate to developed countries are faced with severe migration laws which leave them in the fear of being deported. The restriction encourages silence and the result is exploitation by their employers. Cohen also explains the exploitation of “undocumented” laborers as they lack sufficient proof of their immigration (Cohen, 15). A fear of getting caught and deportation always lingers behind them, which is why such cases of forced labor or slavery often come to surface. In most cases, the laborers make a choice to keep silent on the matter to avoid any problems with a country’s immigration department. Many laborers find themselves stuck in a paradox where their labor counts but their presence does not. The labor conditions are often unfair however laborers cannot raise their voice in fear. The laborers may also be exposed to dangerous working environments and extremely low wages. Often employers take away the documentation of laborers forcing them to comply and accept the conditions. In a way, globalization has strengthened the restrictive immigration laws against those individuals whose work and state of presence has to be controlled. Forced labor is a phenomenon that exists due to restrictive immigration laws that push laborers to precariousness (Cohen, 15). All of this reflects the dark side of globalization that strengthens the institutions thereby making the labor force more vulnerable to exploitative employers (Cohen, 15). Many laws and policies also facilitate slavery. The article by Cohen explains this in terms of the Immigration Asylum and Nationality Act. For example, the Immigration Asylum and Nationality Act of 2006 allowed workers – who were being deported or incarcerated – to work. However, these laborers would not work as free laborers but as prisoners. Another section of the Immigration Asylum and Nationality Act of 2004 facilitates the existence of labor workers as slaves. It provides provision for necessities like housing and offers other support services but involves the undertaking of “community services”. Hence, restrictive laws also contribute to contemporary slavery as they affirm human existence in serfdom and create barriers for the workers who may want to seek help. Most undocumented labor workers are the ones who are targeted for slavery because they cannot seek legal ways of getting out of their situation (Cohen, 15-20). Among the factors pointed out by Anker, the authors explains how contemporary slavery is also linked to gender inequality which leads to modern forms of slavery. This affects women more strongly, and often gender inequality along with domestic violence is the reason that forces women to sexual slavery and human trafficking. Abuse and lack of equal employment opportunity also augments the vulnerability of women. Circumstances may force women to seek illegal migrations which may then expose them to the risks of exploitation, violence, and slavery. It is quite similar to forced labor where social and economic challenges make individuals vulnerable to exploitation and push them into slavery (Anker, 9). Ethnic and racial discrimination is another cause that leads people to slavery, as noted by Anker. General stereotypes about specific races results in their over-representation in certain types of jobs. Hence, this restricts breaking away the stereotypes so as to obtain other respectable jobs. There are various stereotypes of people of certain ethnicities fitting into certain jobs. For instance, women of some ethnicities are believed to be good nannies to take care of children. Domestic help is one of the many jobs, which involves slavery to a great degree. Similarly, many other industries ultimately push individuals to slavery due to certain stereotypes. Therefore, discrimination actually increases the vulnerability of individuals as the stereotypes predispose the placement of people from particular ethnicities into the right job (Anker, 9-10). Today’s slaves represent similar conditions as depicted in Orwellian novels as “non persons”, explains Cohen (16). However, in the immigration laws, these are often considered persons. This has given rise to groups who advocate that “no one is illegal”. But this concept mainly relates to the labor unions who propose social equality, raises in wage rates, safe working conditions, full status as an immigrant, and other similar demands. The trend which bonds labor workers as slaves is driven by capitalism where companies who require labor employ workers from countries providing cheap labor. When employers have acquired all the labor and effort from their workers, they transport, or more appropriately, deport their workers to the country where they came from. This results in sending them to the same places from where they escaped from. Ultimately, they are trapped to the same conditions they have wanted to escape. And it almost works as a cycle pushing labor workers into slavery or a state of lasting precariousness (Cohen, 16-20). Since immigration department of any country is an important institution involved in the matter, law making can help change immigration laws in order to help immigrant workers seek help. Forcing an individual into slavery and denying them basic and fundamental liberties is a violation of human rights as has been put forward in the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights. Hence, a significant change is required in the policies and laws. Law makers should make amendments that do not discourage labor workers from seeking help and provide them with all the necessary legal and financial help to help them get out of their situation. Also, international alliances could be made to counter monopolies and bonded labor. Such alliances could have global presence in order to help suppress unethical coercion into labor. Education should be promoted so as to help people, particularly women to become empowered. In particular, entrepreneurship could be encouraged among women to reduce their dependency and hence, reducing their vulnerability to slavery. Education could also help create a positive environment and help women escape gender inequality to live more freely. All such efforts would make women free in the society so that they no longer have to turn to bondage in order to escape their conditions. Contemporary slavery is a global ethical issue as it disturbs the social inequality. The concept of contemporary slavery should be ended via different means by coming to a general solution by the masses. The government can take a stand on the mass level to end the discrimination against these slaves. People should be trained and educated in accordance to the requirements of the contemporary society. The steps taken should be on a global scale and the UN should take notice of the wrongdoings that are prevailing in the society. The problem can only be rooted out if steps are taken at the grass root level. The employers should also be involved so that they can no longer hire workers who are undocumented and use their weakness as a strength to make them a slave. All these steps together can ensure a society which is free of contemporary slavery. Works Cited Cohen, Steve. “From a Worker to a Slave.” Van Den Anker, Christien. “Global Ethics and Contemporary Slavery.” O’Brien, Robert. “Editor’s Introduction.” Global Social Policy Forum. Read More