The explosion of capitalism in the twentieth century brought with it societal benefit and harm. On the one hand, Americans were living longer and making more money: between the years of 1880 and 1930, the average American life expectancy grew by roughly 50% and the average American income grew by roughly 150%. But this growth came at a cost. The rich built their fortunes on unethical labor. Workers were paid little for their toil and abysmal working conditions often killed them before they could enjoy the marginal fruits of their labor. Tragically, the law granted few protections and gave little opportunity for recourse. The Supreme Court’s Lochner v. New York defined the era’s posture towards business, affirming an expansive right to contract – just or unjust – and ensuring that a state’s interest in health could not be so compelling as to warrant an abridgement of this right. Thankfully, our current laws no longer reflect this understanding. Consumers today need not worry that their dollars strengthen industries which lock vulnerable workers in cycles of poverty – right?
Though hidden from the American psyche, unethical labor is alive and well. Labor practices in the U.S. have improved, but improvement has led big business to search for new ways to cut costs. Now, they use foreign labor in countries where protective law is nonexistent. Foreign sweatshops owned by American companies are thriving. Over 150 million children in underdeveloped countries work in sweatshops. Factory farming in the U.S. poses a similar threat to workers’ rights, as working conditions on these farms are toxic physically and mentally. This presents a tremendous ethical challenge for American consumers. Not only does it require consumers to consider the ethical fallout of otherwise inconsequential choices – like buying an apple or a t-shirt – it reinforces class hierarchies. Products made in sweatshops and factory farms are affordable for companies and consumers. That is precisely why these practices exist: impoverished consumers need affordable products. As a result, people in poverty are forced to perpetuate their own group abuse; their need for basic resources is used to keep them destitute.
But the beauty of the American legal system is that it empowers government with tools for progress. The U.S. Congress, by virtue of its commerce clause powers, has a unique power to reimagine consumer ethics. The first step in combating unethical labor is defining it. Congress should immediately define ethical and unethical labor in accordance with the United Nations’ standard. The second step is awareness. Congress must require that products produced unethically be marked in a similar manner as potentially hazardous ones, like tobacco or alcohol. Finally, businesses engaging in unethical labor must lose access to all subsidies. No consumer should have to feel guilty for buying fruit at the grocery store – and no one’s purchases should sustain their own oppression. An unethical consumerism forces a false choice between different evils. We need an ethical consumerism that grants freedom to choose between different goods.
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