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posted by mrpg on Friday October 19 2018, @02:19PM   Printer-friendly
from the or-suffering-it dept.

Phys.org:

When we think of slavery, many of us think of historical or so-called "traditional forms" of slavery – and of the 12m people ripped from their West African homes and shipped across the Atlantic for a lifetime in the plantations of the Americas.

But slavery is not just something that happened in the past –- the modern day estimate for the number of men, women and children forced into labour worldwide exceeds 40m. Today's global slave trade is so lucrative that it nets traffickers more than US$150 billion each year.

The article asserts that much of today's slavery is being driven by the demand for electronic goods.


[Edit: fixed ILO links]

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  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by fyngyrz on Friday October 19 2018, @06:23PM

    by fyngyrz (6567) on Friday October 19 2018, @06:23PM (#751064) Journal

    You call Drug Use, Gambling, and Prostitution Normal / Victimless human pursuits, but I don't think you understand the meaning of Victimless.

    On the contrary.

    Drug use: someone who smokes a joint "harms" other people just as much a someone who drinks a beer. However, the pot smoker can be fined, imprisoned and enslaved for their action. The victim here is the pot smoker, and their family — and the state creates the victims. Without the law, there would be no victims.

    Gambling: the person who throws $1 into a bet for/against some legislatively-forbidden outcome "harms" other people just as much as someone who buys a $1 lottery ticket. However, the former can be fined, imprisoned and enslaved for their action. The victim here is the former bettor, and their family — and the state creates the victims. Without the law, there would be no victims.

    Prostitution: The person who pays $100 and receives a blow job from a willing, informed provider, "harms" other people just as much as a person who puts out $100 for dinner and receives a blow job (and, to be fair, dinner.) However, the former can be fined, imprisoned and enslaved for their action. The victim here is the former recipient of the sexual activity, and their family — and the state creates the victims. Without the law, there would be no victims.

    In all three cases, by moving these activities to the black market, the participants are prevented from accessing remedies when one of the parties does something nonconsensual.

    Where legislation is appropriate — people being forced into such life choices — it already exists, as it should. However, in no case is slavery any kind of appropriate remedy. All that does is teach the incarcerated that human life is the lowest possible value coin, but coin it is. If you have a complaint against people being enslaved, you should stop supporting laws that encourage it and teach it to others.

    Any sane definition of liberty is based firmly upon the idea of informed, consensual/personal choice. As soon as you step on that idea, you're well off into the land of the oppressor.

    You don't like some personal choice? That's perfectly okay. Don't make that choice. You don't like that someone else making such a choice? Feel free to complain, and feel free to provide as much information about why you think some other choice would be better.

    But as soon as you try to force them to make personal choices your way, you've stepped well over the line. You have no right to do so, even if, by some abject exercise in malfuckery, society has given you or your legal system the power to do so, as is definitely the exact circumstance with various kinds of "sin" legislation. The other person's freedom to choose is far more important than any imaginary right you might think you have to not be offended.

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