Slavery in Chocolate Industry

The pivotal second chapter of Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations, "Of the Principle which gives occasion to the Division of Labour," opens with the oft-cited claim that the foundation of modern political economy is the human "propensity to truck, barter, and exchange one thing for another."1 This formulation plays both an analytical and normative role. It offers an anthropological microfoundation for Smith's understanding of how modern commercial societies function as social organizations, which, in turn, provide a venue for the expression and operation of these human proclivities. Together with the equally famous concept of the invisible hand, this sentence defines the central axis of a new science of political economy

What Money Can’t Buy; The Moral Limits of Market by Michael Sandel argues the relationship between markets and our morality. His central concern is the influence of money on the sphere of life traditionally governed by nonmarket norms such as rights as a citizen, care for others, and civic duties. He demonstrated that market is responsible for destroying our sense of morality by placing monetary value to it. This paper will argue the relationship between market and morality through demonstrating the type of goods corrupted by money, the flaws in the market system that causes such problems, and the political solution for this problem as suggested by Michael Sandel respectively.

Screams for relief, cries for comfort, and moans for death all revolved around the slave trade. The slave trade is an event that not only impacted Africa, but the whole world even still today. This essay will explain how cultures were ruined and families were torn apart. The slave trade has influenced history worldwide because it has impacted continents economically, socially, and politically.

was missing key data to support his claims of slavery being unprofitable. Phillips completely left out the overall productivity of a slave, which was the ultimate difference in the revision of 1958. A major factor Conrad and Meyer took into consideration concerning production was the reproduction rates for females. Their researched showed that “prime hand wenches produced anywhere between 5-10 kids, and was one-half to two-thirds productive as prime field hands” (C.M. 106-107). However, an average 3 months time is lost due to pregnancy. After calculating return rates they found that women bearing 10 children would have an 8.1 percent rate of return and a women with 5 children will have a 7.1 percent rate of return. Furthermore, the rate of return per slave averaged out to 10 percent (Weiher).

Bottling of freshwater from a rare resource in the Fiji Islands, and harvesting of cocoa beans via child slave labor in West Africa, are both ethically questionable. Business practices from both commodities have little regard on damages inflicted during their production. Ethical issues, similarities, and differences with both commodities will be contrasted, a presentation of socially responsible

During the time right after the Civil War, the beloved President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth in 1865 in Ford Theater while he was trying to peacefully watch a play. This tragedy brought mourn to the people, and Lincoln died before he can even see the slaves be freed. As a result, the Vice President, Andrew Johnson, was promoted to the position of the President, and he took matters into his own hands to reconstruct the United States since now the slaves have rights. Johnson discussed the Freedmen’s Bureau to the citizens of the United States where the federal agency design this act to help four million former slaves with jobs and education. In the beginning, the slave owners were paying for their food and shelter,

Through its exquisite examples, and compelling tone, Michael Sandel's article "What Isn't for Sale" advises that we need to recognize that our markets are taking over our personal lives and we have become a market society. Anything and everything are for sale these days in our nation. Sandel affirms that over the past thirty years our markets have changed from market economies to market societies. In agreeing with Mr. Sandel on this issue, we must understand the message he is trying to convey. It is possible to do so with the following reasons. We can’t allow for causes such as greed to take place, the consequences of inequality and corruption to happen, and open dialogue and debate need to take place so we all can agree how far

When we consume a commodity we often do not realize that not only are we engaging in a relationship with that particular commodity, but inadvertently, we become entrenched in a series of social, economic, and geographical relationships around the globe. These relationships can be traced backwards from the point of consumption to a marketing agency, a supplier, a producer, an exporter,

According to Western Culture Global the American economic system is “Characterized by saving and capital accumulation, exchange, profit motive, freedoms of economic competition and economic inequality, economic progress and material self-interests of all the individuals who participate in it” (Western Culture Global). These characteristics of capitalism are vital for a successful development and maintenance of businesses in the Western Hemisphere. With that being said, capitalism encourages a higher standard of living of the overall quality of life in the US, through successful accomplishments of many businesses, corporations, and banks that are the heartbeat of the American capitalism (Ellis). In addition, there are other contributions made to improve the welfare and quality of life in society and that is in the form of charities, grants, scholarships, and other indirect ways by wealthy business owners, banks, and corporations which in turn boosted the development of society and advancing the general population of the US.

Capitalism is, tautologically, private ownership over the means of production. On face, the notion of a capitalistic society epitomizes the essence of freedom; ownership entails control, power, and potential for bargaining. I contend, however, that a holistic analysis of the capitalist institution exposes the foreground as an ugly facade. In short, I will show that capitalism not only brings out the worst in people, but also, sustains a pathological cycle of violence. I will first provide a framework discussion of my analysis, summarize the hypocrisies and development of capitalism, and then demonstrate the horrific result of value-driven trade.

Capitalism has been the subject of ethical criticism since it was first introduced into society. I defend the morality of capitalism because it gives people incentive to work, establishes a web of trust between them, satisfies their material well-being, and generates a wide spectrum of prosperity.

politicians, who pressured the industry to tackle the issue. Some politicians did their best to use their authority to put some pressure on some of the companies which accused of child slavery, and made those companies to pledge to reduce all the child slavery forms of their companies. What happened that those companies did not work ethically in order to get rid of using children during harvest time. That what the documentary film “the dark side of chocolate” shows that those companies still making children work during harvest season and under bad conditions in order to make more

Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the vast range of goods produced overseas and the often horrifying conditions under which workers labored to produce them. College students, activists, and certain scholars were quick to condemn “Sweatshops” and the multinational companies (MNC’s) that used them. However, this initial moral condemnation was based more on a natural sense of horror than moral reasoning, and critics often demonstrated a lack of sensitivity to both the underlying economic conditions that gave rise to the sweatshop phenomenon and to the beneficial consequences of sweatshops for both their employees and the broader economies in which they functioned. As a result, many economists quickly leapt to the

“The Dark Side of Chocolate” is a documentary that explores the underlying issues prevalent in the cocoa trade. For most first world countries chocolate is seen as an accessible treat, however in third world countries, the production of cocoa creates social issues that must be eliminated. Cocoa trade is one of the largest industries in West African countries, but the issues that arise from such trade do more harm than good. The cocoa plantations are trafficking humans to work on their plantations. Furthermore, most instances suggest that these workers do not receive any compensation for their work and most importantly some of these slave laborers are children. Thus, the three issues that the cocoa companies routinely commit in exchange for lower costs are human trafficking, slave labor, and child labor. These companies are aware of such issues but refuse to actively combat them because they are better off financially. It can be argued that these issues can be mitigated through various social, governmental and political policies aimed at combating these problems. The three main issues will be addressed and the various stakeholders affected by these issues will be analyzed. Then this paper will look at the possible solutions to these issues, whereby through government, social or political means.

The fair trade concept, based on the idea of both economic activity and social development, is replete with ethical and sustainable echoes. Ransom (2002 p 20) asks, 'can the