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The Economics of Slavery A Brief Overview (Some material from Kevin Bales;
"Disposal People",
1999/ U.of California Press and Ethan Kapstein; “The New Global Slavery” Foreign
Affairs Nov-Dec 2006
SLAVERY is Big Business. Although the motivation behind slavery has generally been economic, modern slaves are particularly dehumanized. A series of changes fuel this trend: (Click on topic to follow links) 2. Upheaval and social chaos (war/relocation/etc 3. Increased demand for sex trade workers, particularly the young, including children. 4. Impersonal profit-only driven labor and commerce; 5. Worsening conditions in women's and children's rights; 6. Re-upsurge in traditional chattel slavery in Islamic countries 7. Demand for modern luxuries in 3rd world countries, without first securing human rights. 8. Rebel, warlord and other groups enslaving young men and children for military purposes 9. Lack of significant trade sanctions and investigations into slavery produced goods, by governing organizations such as the WTO and UN. 10. The Chinese (Asian) connection The slave trade has drawn little criticism or opposition for decades, but that is starting to change. Anti-slavery websites are becoming more common. Boycotting and Divestment Campaigns such as Divest Sudan gain momentum. States, cities and universities (See info on other divestment campaigns) have begun to look at ways to invest and do business while doing as little harm as possible. Slavery and economics have a historic and complex interplay. It takes education to learn how to avoid lending support to the slavery empire. Please investigate where your purchases originate. Carefully scrutinize your investments and retirement funds. It may be necessary to temporarily reject good stocks with a bad human rights record. Many slave "users" never see their slaves, but they are handled through intermediaries, such as madams, supervisors, factory and field overseers. The impersonal and global nature of the new economy, makes this kind of slavery possible. Buyers, particulary, end-product users, do not have to bother themselves or their conscience, about the origins of their purchases. There is merely a mark on a box (China, Pakistan, Mexico) to give clues. And they don't tell the entire story of origin. A product can use raw materials from Khazistan, have parts from Columbia and Portugal and be assembled in Taiwan. Although investment with direct slavery supporters is illegal in the US, corporations that have major shares or indirectly support these enslavers, still do major business on the New York Stock Exchange and profit from all of us! War and social unrest has always affected the poor the most. The sheer number of conflicts around the world has increased the amount of dispossessed, homeless, uprooted and desperate people. In such populations, slave traders prey on the needs and hopes of these people by offering them jobs or pressuring families to sell children. INCREASED DEMAND FOR SEX TRADE WORKERS A larger population in a state of flux, adds to the demand for slaves. Increased trade and uneven prosperity set the stage in emerging nations. While a middle class has suddenly more to spend, their poor neighbors are vulnerable to demands for prostitution and sometimes forced into it. With fierce international competition in business, the bottom line is sometimes the only factor. Because of the impersonal nature of manufacturing in far off places, it is easy to rationalize how other players get their work done and who does it. With competitors using slave labor, it is almost impossible to compete while paying fair wages. A straight capitalist economy with no moral or legal restraints on slavery makes this inevitable. Kevin Bales, in Disposal People, gives this analogy: "Imagine if you could buy a brand new car for $40," he said. "If you had a flat tire, you would just walk away. Sadly, that's what happens to human beings when the price gets so low -- they're a disposable item." Classical slavery involved an investment in money and obligation. Slaves were difficult to obtain and it was to the owner's advantage to keep them as healthy and as long as possible. In the 1700's slaves cost the equivalent of 1000's of dollars, but are now can be purchased as cheaply as $40 in places such as Benin. Most slaves are not considered a possession of an owner but merely a tool, an investment to be used and thrown away. WOMEN'S AND CHILDREN'S RIGHTS/ It's getting Worse.... While the UN issues decrees and papers ,and the west has continuous dialogue on women and children's rights, they are virtually ignored in much of the world. In many places, women and children are virtual possessions of the father or husband. This is particularly true in Islamic states and in many tribes and obscure groups where it is a traditional problem. It is harder to explain the amount of slavery in Russia, China and other Marxist (or former) states, where equality of sexes is consistently expounded and ignored. Even odder is the upsurge in slavery in Europe, Australia and South and Central America, where Christian principles against slavery generally held sway. (With exceptions such as the US and Haiti, in the past). More women and children are being deprived of common rights than in the past, including the right to freedom from slavery. RE-UPSURGE IN TRADITIONAL ISLAMIC-BASED SLAVERY Although it may not be politically correct to say it, it is still true, that slavery has a long historic tradition in Islam, and that this tradition is being revived. The Koran teaches that if an Infidel (non-believer) will not convert they may be made a slave. While this teaching is not accepted at face value by many Muslims, there are a significant number of leaders who are teaching that Muslims may enslave non-Muslims. Because of this, many women from the Phillipines and other places, who applied as workers, have found themselves enslaved as either domestics or sexual workers. This has happened a great deal in Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and the Arab states but also in Europe and elsewhere. It is widely known that many poor children are either sold or kidnapped and enslaved as camel jockeys in the Gulf States. It is a very difficult and dangerous job there has been little outcry against this. DEMAND FOR MODERN LUXURIES IN 3rd WORLD In places such as Thailand, the economy is rapidly but unevenly growing. The middle class wants televisons, cellphones, etc., but there is no infrastructure to protect the poorest and most vulnerable. Some parents sell their children in order to survive but others in order to have luxuries. Where there are no human rights protections, the wealthier and stronger may enslave their neighbors or import others to do menial work or serve them in other ways. Another new twist in oppression is 3rd world , or former 3rd world countries taking advantage of other poor nations. Lako Tongun, a professor of Sudanese studies at Pitzer College in Claremont, California explains how this can happen; "The regime in Khartoum is secure because of the Chinese protection." "Much of the oil is being exploited by Asian countries. This is a new phenomenon, that what we call third world countries contribute to genocide." ENSLAVING YOUNG MEN AND CHILDREN FOR MILITARY (Coming Soon) THE ASIAN CONNECTION As China emerges as a huge player in world markets, it has not been held to the same standards as western companies. This is due to governmental control and enforced secrecy on it's part. It is known that China has massive prison Gulags where prisoners are forced and often worked to death and murdered for their body parts. This is verifable information. Even the US State Department has reports on it, yet China continues in Most Favorable Trade status. WHY? The companies that have been targeted in the successful university divestment campaigns are mainly Chinese and Russian companies, such as the Chinese state run PetroChina and Sinopec, Tatneft (Russia), and ABB, Ltd. (Switzerland).
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