Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Rally against Sweatshops?



The advertisements are all across the Fairfax campus at George Mason University. The Students for a Democratic Society,SDS, on campus are hosting an anti-sweatshop rally. Now I am not trying to create an Economics Society / Students for a Democratic Society feud here. In fact, I do support the end to the Iraq war (I won't speak for the Economics Society) which is a main cause the SDS oppose.
I am simply stating that sweatshops are good, and that the only problem is there are not enough of them. I know no member within the SDS would agree me (heck, if they did then why are they supporting a group hosting an event?), but give me a chance to let you know why they are good by linking you to this site. He does an excellent job of discussing why sweatshops are good.
Remember as a member of a society we want others to have the ability to find work. The discussion of wage is a discussion between the employer and the employee as it is an individual choice. As the Spanish Scholastics had pointed out

On the issue of the “just wage,” which has been the source of so much contention in Catholic circles over the past century, the Late Scholastics contended that a wage rate mutually agreed upon had to be just. According to Luis de Molina (1535–1600), an employer was “only obliged to pay [the laborer] the just wage for his services considering all the attendant circumstances, not what is sufficient for his sustenance and much less for the maintenance of his children and family.” Domingo de Soto (1494–1570) argued that “if they freely accepted this salary for their job, it must be just,” and held that “no injury is done to those who gave their consent.” His advice to unhappy employees was simple: “[I]f you do not want to serve for that salary, leave!”
Gratitude for the Mises Institute for the Review of the Chafuen's work on the Spanish Scholastics.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The issues of sweatshops aren't only about money. It's dehumanizing and monotonous work. The fact that we are so dependent on exploitation is horrible. How unthoughtful of you. You should be ashamed.