Kant and Utiliarianism on Sweatshops

By definition a sweatshop is a “negatively connoted term for any working environment considered to be unacceptably difficult or dangerous. Sweatshop workers often work long hours for very low pay in horrible conditions, regardless of laws mandating overtime pay and or minimum wage”. Many corporations in the United States use sweatshop labor in countries over seas such as China to produce their products at a lower cost. As entailed in the letter from a man born in China, many citizens on these countries resort to factory labor to support themselves to escape other sources on income such as prostitution. Without these corporations usage of oversea sweatshops these employees would be forced to return to self-demeaning jobs such as these. However, does the mere fact that overseas factory labor is allowing these people to support themselves and their families provide moral justification for the poor work conditions, and low wages that sweatshop labor provides? German philosopher Immanuel Kant would argue that there must be changes made in the politics of sweatshops to improve there conditions. Using his idea of the “Categorical Imperative” and treating people as “valuable in themselves” Kant would not completely take away the opportunity for these people to support themselves working in factories but make it a more humane system. Utilitarian philosophy would identify the good that these sweatshops are providing for the people overseas, and recognize the harm that could be caused to their lives by removing the sweatshops. Trying to create the most human happiness and prevent suffering a Utilitarian would suggest the continuation of sweatshops overseas with the implementations of better conditions and wages for the employees. Using the ideas of Kant, and the views of utilitarian philosophy, a CEO of a United States corporation could not only identify the positive opportunity these factories provide for poor citizens overseas but also the necessity for the improvement of

Cited: Audi, Robert. Business Ethics And Ethical Business. New York, NY: Oxford UP, 2009. Print.