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Sweatshops Essay

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What are the Moral Implications that come with Sweatshops and the idea that we as people have the ability of autonomous choice in life? Sweatshops are morally legitimate because individuals who work in the sweatshops choose to do so. They might not like it or prefer to work in sweatshops but the fact that they choose to work in such places is morally significant. This argument is the core of many academics and economists who advocate for the legitimacy of sweatshops. Many of them argue that while sweatshops do not do their employees justice, they do so in a context to provide financial benefit to the workers and the fact that employees accept these conditions readily, show that they view financial benefit …show more content…

They work to support their families, to survive and to educate their children so that they can escape the poverty trap. They believe it is better to work in sweatshops than be unemployed. According to Kant, We should act so that we treat human beings always as an end and never as a means only. He meant that morality requires that we respect people. He asserted that human beings deserve respect as they have dignity. An object that has dignity is priceless. When we respect people, we honor their humanity, which is not something MNEs have done. The UN identifies a right to decent work without exploitation and as such, MNEs have an obligation to respect human rights. The intentional violation of legal rights of workers such as good working environment is conflicting with MNEs duty to respect workers. Many workers in sweatshops face coercion to work overtime or lose their jobs. Overtime often a legal provision is in most cases not paid. The working conditions in these sweatshops expose employees to hazards such as pollution, poisoning, toxic chemicals and illnesses they cannot leave work to treat for fear of being terminated. It is not morally acceptable therefore for MNEs to outsource labor to developing nations without meeting acceptable working conditions for human

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