3071-The political economy of new slavery

Nigel Dower 199
Development ethics, as I have indicated in the course of the discussion,
contributes significantly to these changes in the following ways. First, it
involves sustained ethical reflection on the bases for the rejection of new
slavery. No doubt most people would agree that such slavery is seriously
wrong, but ethical reflection on why it is wrong which is embedded in
answers to the wider questions ‘what makes extreme poverty an evil?’
and ‘what makes it the priority for public policies, nationally and internationally,
in regard to development?’ should strengthen the recognition
that new slavery is a priority issue. Furthermore, development ethics
helps to embed such discussion in a recognition that the right to be free
from slavery is not an isolated right but one of a range of universally
recognized rights which development ethics seeks to integrate into an
overall ethical framework.
Second, this ethical framework provides the basis for both a solid
justification for policies, laws and institutions, but also for effective
development practice. Clearly ethics has a key bearing on the formulation
of development policies (concerning its goals and chief means) and
in the development of a regulatory framework of rules and laws. But it
is also vital to the motivation of all ordinary agents both to uphold and
to further those policies and laws. This is not merely a matter of people
being willing to go along with policies and to obey rules and laws. It is
rather a matter of there being an ethical culture in which agents are
generally motivated to further policies (beyond mere compliance to law)
and to encourage others to comply with law, to further policies and
oppose those who thwart policies or break laws.
This is particularly important in respect to new slavery, since the evils
generally occur because the law is not effectively enforced. Those opposed
to this have many kinds of things they can do – raising awareness among
others (like this book), being vigilant about the existence of such practices,
taking care not to be unwitting beneficiaries of them (like buying
goods which are the product of sweated labour). These are all aspects of
active moral responsibility. The ethics of development is partly about the
forming of the ethical culture of responsibility – including, significantly,
a culture of corporate ethical or social responsibility in the corporate
world. This is particularly pertinent in areas in which bad development
occurs because of such factors as new slavery and corruption. The development
of this culture is crucially dependent upon the development of
appropriate NGOs that campaign on issues like new slavery, and are
a vital part of the emerging global civil society. A critical ethical passion
drives many in such organizations – and it is the approach of development
ethics which provides the critical tools for effective ethical passion.