We've Got to Stamp Out Modern Slavery by Lawrence - Article Example

Case Study Table of Contents Introduction 3 A Brief Overview of the Provided Case Study 4 Analysis of the Case Study with Two Theoretical Frameworks 5 Karl Marx’s Radical Theory of Conflict and Exploitation 5 Max Weber’s Pluralist Theory of Conflict 8 Conclusion 9 References 11 Introduction Modern slavery is often viewed to be an evil practice, which is still prevalent throughout the globe, but in an intellectual way, hiding from the eagle-eyed attention of social groups, both domestic and international. It has been reported that a huge figure of people still suffer from the evil of slavery in present times. Giving an illustrative explanation, it is worth mentioning in this regard that slavery is still reported to exist in varied regions of Britain at large. This can be justified with reference to the alleged fact that women, children along with men working in diverse brothels, illicit drugs farms, restaurants, nail bars and shops of Britain are observed to be held in opposition to their will and much inclined towards leading the life of abuse as well as slavery. To counter this particular evil, the government of Britain is striving to make deliberate efforts in the form of introducing bills, consolidating along with strengthening legislations relating to the abolition of this evil and ensuring the imposition of harshest penalties on the traffickers as well as the slave drivers (May, 2014). With this concern, the essay intends to analyse the article titled, “Weve got to stamp out modern slavery” by Lawrence (2010) and discuss the issues found to be persisting and exhibiting slavery practices beneath the so-called sheet of social modernity and uniformity today. Accordingly, to demonstrate a critical point of view in this context, the approaches of Karl Marx’s Radical Theory and Max Weber’s Pluralist Theory have been discussed in this essay when analysing the stated issue with reference to the case scenario. A Brief Overview of the Provided Case Study Lawrence (2010) showcases the re-appearance of slavery in today’s modern society, taking examples of crew on the ships off to West Africa. This is viewed to be quite shocking to the entire world, but as stated in Lawrence (2010), it is not a surprising one to people residing in these regions, particularly because West Africa had already experienced and surpassed the stage wherein slavery persisted at a significant momentum. According to Lawrence (2010), slavery came into limelight at the time when the instances of obligatory labours were prohibited on trawlers, fishing especially for the European business markets emerged in the African continent. As per the observations made by Lawrence (2010), the workers in West Africa were humiliated or exploited by their respective contractors through various forms, which were mostly by forcing the workers to work for 18 hours daily without pay, offering them with inadequate spaces to sleep as well as to stand up and seizing documents to prohibit them from escape. Such occurrences further advocate that the workers were powerless against their respective contractors, appointed by various multinational organisations. Questions regarding the legitimate and moral obligations of multinationals were also raised in this case, wherein arguments have been discussion the intentions of these organisations to relocate wherein production seems to be cheapest, facilitated with cheap labourers, who can be easily exploited (Lawrence, 2010). It would be vital to mention in this similar context that the globalisation factor had observed the re-appearance of slavery in this modern day context, which needs to be curbed down to the maximum level. Apart from the exploitation of the workers in West Africa, Lawrence (2010) also highlighted the similar instance describing the re-appearance of modern slavery while inspecting the “UK chicken supply chain” in the year 2002 in Thailand. Lawrence (2010) further identified that the UK retailers mainly outsource a significant portion of their respective cheap commodity chicken from the factories of Asia. It also observed that certain proportion of unlawful Burmese migrants were confined in forced labour and debt bondage on the subcontracted farms, located in various places of Bangkok, and engaged in supplying the commodity in international poultry processing factories. Correspondingly, while interviewing fifteen Burmese migrants, it was revealed that they were often ordered to work continuously without any pay or even a day-off for two months (Lawrence, 2010). Thus, from the analysis of the case study, it can be affirmed that exploitation related issues needs to be considered with immense significance, which has allegedly facilitated the re-appearance of modern slavery in particular regions throughout the globe imposing threat to the sustainability of modern society. Analysis of the Case Study with Two Theoretical Frameworks Karl Marx’s Radical Theory of Conflict and Exploitation Karl Marx introduced the radical theories and ideas based on which, the disparities prevailing between social classes can be witnessed on the basis of rational grounds. A few of such theories include Conflict theory and Marxist Theory of Exploitation. Notably, the conflict theory of Karl Marx observes community as one of the dynamic entities, which has undergone many rapid transformations due to the consequence of rivalry over scarce resources. By taking into concern this significant aspect of Karl Marx’s conflict theory, it has been quite apparent that the theory explains change in communities, which eventually forms a distinction between varied social classes leading to one’s superiority and the others inferiority. Karl Marx, in his conflict theory, observed that the prime socio-historical transformations play a fundamental role to ignite conflicts between the diverse social classes. As per the observations made by Karl Marx, a community is always in the position of facing incessant conflicts over various scarce as well as limited resources, encompassing leisure and money among others. This eventually drives a greater social change in the long run causing diversity and disparity in the social construction (Brym & Lie, 2009). Conversely, the exploitation theory of Karl Marx signifies that communities can be made fair only by dethroning the capitalists and most vitally, getting rid of their respective slavery systems. According to Karl Marx, capitalists are those who invest extensively in procuring materials, developing production procedures and hiring personnel for manufacturing products to suffice their selling purposes. These capitalists are often viewed to make vast differences amid the varied social classes due to the possession of enormous power and the ability to exploit the backward classes or rather, the deemed inferior classes of the society. Karl Marx explains exploitation theory as the persistence of diverse forms of struggles taking place particularly between the capitalists and the workers. According to him, the exploitation rates mainly raise due to the spending of a greater part of a single working day, being performed by unpaid labour, to suffice the capitalists’ needs (Revolution, 2014). Based on the above discussion, it can be affirmed that the conflict and the exploitation theory of Karl Marx might be related with the provided case study of Lawrence (2010). These theories can also prove quite useful for analysing the exploitation issues that have become evident from the provided case study. As per the case study provided, one of the major issues observed suggested the exploitation of workers offering them with low wages, making them to work longer hours without pay and providing inadequate amenities that are required for leading a healthy life. Apart from this, the other issue observed in this context was the re-emergence of modern slavery, which came into light in the cases of exploiting West African workers, UK Chicken Supply Chain in Thailand and abusing the illicit Burmese migrants (Lawrence, 2010). In relation to Marx’s Conflict theory, the major issue observed in the provided case study of Lawrence (2010), concerning the exploitation of the West African workers as well as the unlawful Burmese migrants, depicts the existence of inequality in a specific community. This persistence of inequality subsequently raises questions about the coercion role and the power creating social order. As per the understanding of Karl Marx’s Conflict Theory, these exploited workers can be regarded as groups that compete for gaining economic as well as social resources. In addition, it can be affirmed that these exploited workers struggle over attaining the control of the above stated social resources, referring to the perception of Marx’s Conflict Theory. It would be vital to mention in this similar concern that unlike other sociological theories, Marx’s conflict theory emphasises the conflicted, negative and ever-transforming societal nature. This can be distinctively elaborated by taking into concern the conflicted or the exploitative behaviour made towards the workers of West Africa and the illegitimate Burmese migrants, as portrayed in the case study provided (Lawrence, 2010; Brym & Lie, 2009). It is worth mentioning that the re-appearance of modern slavery was once again witnessed in the provided case study by Lawrence (2010), wherein the cases of exploitation had been addressed from a critical point of view. These cases included the uncovering of forced labours on trawlers fishing for the European business market, sourcing cheap commodities from the factories belonging to Asia by the UK retailers and abusing the unlawful Burmese migrants. By taking into concern these cases, Karl Marx’s Exploitation Theory can be interlinked to analyse the scenario presented in the provided case study. As per the cases depicted in the provided case study, it has been quite apparent that there existed potential conflicts or struggles between the capitalists and the workers belonging to varied regions throughout the globe (Revolution, 2014; Lawrence, 2010). Unambiguously indeed, it can be stated that the capitalists’ main intention is to earn extensive amount of profits in the form of over utilising the potentials of the workers or exploiting them through various ways. Referring back to Lawrence (2010), these ways can be observed to have been apparently noted as forcing the labourers to work for 18 hours daily without any pay and offering them with inadequate amenities too, hence affecting their right to a healthy life disrupted by inadequate or rather, restricted supply of basic amenities. This can be justified based on the argument that the workers of West Africa lived as well as worked in ships holding without a day off and often with no pay after working maximum hours in a day. Hence, these cases clearly depict the persistence of exploitation, resulting in raising the gaps prevailing between the varied social classes at large (Revolution, 2014; Lawrence, 2010). Max Weber’s Pluralist Theory of Conflict Similar to Karl Marx, Max Weber also introduced a pluralist form of Conflict Theory wherein the philosopher holds the viewpoint that gaining financial interests in the form of possessing goods and reaping significant income opportunities eventually raises the distinction between varied social classes. Correspondingly, the philosopher considers three imperative factors that eventually result in generating conflicts, leading towards greater social inequality and improper balance between the individuals. According to Weber, these factors include power, class and status. In this similar context, Weber defined ‘classes’ as the economic position held by an individual in a specific community on the basis of individual attainment as well as birth. The term ‘power’ has further been defined by Weber as the capability to act or to respond to the activities of an individual. Again, Weber described ‘status’ as the social position held by a person in comparison with others (SAGE Publications, n.d.). Based on the above discussion, the factor of ‘power’ can be duly taken into concern for analysing the issues observed in the provided case study by Lawrence (2010). According to the case study provided, one of the cases concerning the exploitation of certain illicit Burmese migrants had eventually portrayed the power held by the capitalists, which eventually resulted in causing greater social inequalities. This can be justified with reference to the case scenario, exhibiting that the subcontracted farms located throughout Bangkok were involved in supplying the international poultry processing factories, which had exploited Burmese migrants in the form of forcing them to work for longer hours without any pay as well as a day off in return of inadequate facilities. This case ultimately replicates the coercion power held by the capitalists, i.e. the subcontracted farms, which resulted in conflicts as well as tensions between the workers and the capitalists by a considerable extent (Lawrence, 2010; SAGE Publications, n.d.). Conclusion Based on the above analysis and discussion, it can be ascertained that the evil of slavery is still persistent in this present day context. The cases that had been depicted in the case study provided ultimately in Lawrence (2010) advocated the re-appearance of modern slavery in this globalisation and technology-driven era. These cases may be commonly observed in terms of exploiting workers belonging to West Africa, abusing illegitimate Burmese migrants and generating conflicts between the workers and the capitalists through making the personnel to work for longer hours without a day off or at certain times, without pay in exchange of insufficient amenities to support the basic needs. With regards to the above-discussed cases, it can be affirmed that the radical theories i.e. Conflict and Exploitation Theory of Karl Marx and Weber’s pluralist based Conflict Theory offer a succinct viewpoint when analysing the cases that had been portrayed in the case study provided. In relation to Marx’s Conflict and Exploitation Theory, social inequalities mainly emerge due to the disparities prevailing between the workers and the capitalists. In the similar context, with regards to Weber’s Conflict Theory, social differences mainly exist for having maximum powers on the hand of the capitalists and further due to their over utilisation supporting the arguments in Lawrence (2010). References Brym, R. & Lie, J., 2009. Sociology: Your Compass for a New World, Brief Edition: Enhanced Edition. Cengage Learning. Lawrence, F., 2010. Weve Got To Stamp Out Modern Slavery. PovertyMatters Blog. [Online] Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/oct/03/modern-slavery-globalisation-multinationals [Accessed June 05, 2014]. May, T., 2014. Theresa May: It’s Time To Stamp Out Slavery. Again. The Spectator. [Online] Available at: http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/culturehousedaily/2014/03/theresa-may-my-fight-against-the-modern-day-slavery-highlighted-by-steve-mcqueen/ [Accessed June 05, 2014]. Revolution, 2014. What Does Exploitation Mean? Home. [Online] Available at: http://www.socialistrevolution.org/ideas/the-system-that-keeps-us-down/what-does-exploitation-mean/ [Accessed June 06, 2014]. SAGE Publications, No Date. Conflict Theory: Max Weber, Power and Conflict. Critical Theories: Marxist, Conflict, and Feminist, pp. 93-110. Read More