Evaluating the Ethics of Sweatshops through Catholic Social Thought
Prompt 2 The rise and fall of sweat shop labor in the United States has had major effects on the global garment industry. The effects of sweat shop labor are still debated today; we still struggle over the morality of sweatshops and these arguments echo the concerns of a century ago (Ross, 50). It is problematic to think that “Sweatshops aren’t that bad. You can live like a king on those wages in other counties because everything is so cheap and they don’t have the same expenses we do in the United States” (Kelley). To analyze this statement, we can apply Catholic Social Thought (CST) to identify, evaluate, and recommend a different action. CST is a set of ethical principles …show more content…
The Compendium defines the principle of the common good: “To which every aspect of social life must be related if it is to attain its fullest meaning, stems from the dignity, unity and equality of all people. According to its primary and broadly accepted sense, the common good indicates the sum total of social conditions which allow people, wither as groups or individuals, to reach their fulfilment more fully and more easily (Compendium, 164).
The statement fails to recognize the application of the common good towards sweatshop laborers and how conditions of sweatshops will not allow a person to reach his or her own highest level of fulfilment. According to CST, the common good must be shared by all people, either as groups or individuals to reach his or her fulfilment more easily. Each member of society has a duty to develop the common good equally and every member deserves to enjoy the benefits of the common good (Compendium, 166). The statement made does not recognize the right of the common good to sweatshop laborers by discouraging their fulfilment by stating “sweatshops aren’t that bad” (Kelley). This individual is not following CST’s principle by sharing the common good with sweatshop …show more content…
In What Does Catholica Social Thought Recommend for the Economy?, Albino Barrera argues that this definition of the common good lacks specificity because the definition of human fulfilment by the Compendium is both incomplete and subjective, which is why he argues that the principle of the common good cannot be applied to economic matters. Its ambiguity makes it difficult to come to an agreement on the specifics of what CST recommends for human fulfilment and for the economy (Barrera, 15-16). Regardless, a conceptual middle ground is possible, and Barrera has made progress to apply CST’s principle of human fulfilment on the common good. The statement does not follow CST’s definition of the role of work by stating “Sweatshops aren’t that bad” (Kelley). The Compendium describes work as the “original state of man and precedes his fall; it is therefore not a punishment or curse” (Compendium, 256). However, as seen in the Rivoli text, sweatshops do not follow CST’s guidelines for work and would be considered
Prompt 2 The rise and fall of sweat shop labor in the United States has had major effects on the global garment industry. The effects of sweat shop labor are still debated today; we still struggle over the morality of sweatshops and these arguments echo the concerns of a century ago (Ross, 50). It is problematic to think that “Sweatshops aren’t that bad. You can live like a king on those wages in other counties because everything is so cheap and they don’t have the same expenses we do in the United States” (Kelley). To analyze this statement, we can apply Catholic Social Thought (CST) to identify, evaluate, and recommend a different action. CST is a set of ethical principles …show more content…
The Compendium defines the principle of the common good: “To which every aspect of social life must be related if it is to attain its fullest meaning, stems from the dignity, unity and equality of all people. According to its primary and broadly accepted sense, the common good indicates the sum total of social conditions which allow people, wither as groups or individuals, to reach their fulfilment more fully and more easily (Compendium, 164).
The statement fails to recognize the application of the common good towards sweatshop laborers and how conditions of sweatshops will not allow a person to reach his or her own highest level of fulfilment. According to CST, the common good must be shared by all people, either as groups or individuals to reach his or her fulfilment more easily. Each member of society has a duty to develop the common good equally and every member deserves to enjoy the benefits of the common good (Compendium, 166). The statement made does not recognize the right of the common good to sweatshop laborers by discouraging their fulfilment by stating “sweatshops aren’t that bad” (Kelley). This individual is not following CST’s principle by sharing the common good with sweatshop …show more content…
In What Does Catholica Social Thought Recommend for the Economy?, Albino Barrera argues that this definition of the common good lacks specificity because the definition of human fulfilment by the Compendium is both incomplete and subjective, which is why he argues that the principle of the common good cannot be applied to economic matters. Its ambiguity makes it difficult to come to an agreement on the specifics of what CST recommends for human fulfilment and for the economy (Barrera, 15-16). Regardless, a conceptual middle ground is possible, and Barrera has made progress to apply CST’s principle of human fulfilment on the common good. The statement does not follow CST’s definition of the role of work by stating “Sweatshops aren’t that bad” (Kelley). The Compendium describes work as the “original state of man and precedes his fall; it is therefore not a punishment or curse” (Compendium, 256). However, as seen in the Rivoli text, sweatshops do not follow CST’s guidelines for work and would be considered