There’s a small philosophical literature on the ethics of sweatshops. There are some libertarian type people who defend basically the view you describe, that if people voluntarily work at these places, they must represent their best option, so sweatshops can’t be morally wrong. This paper is representative of that view: https://philpapers.org/rec/ZWOSCA-2
Then there are people who try to argue that sweatshop labor really is wrong nonetheless. One idea is basically Kantian—sweatshop owners treat their employees as a mere means to an end, which is wrong. Another idea is that sweatshop workers are wrongfully exploited. For instance, lots of people have the intuition that in a voluntary exchange, one party shouldn’t use their bargaining power to reap all the gains from the trade. I.e. they think there is a “fair price” where buyer and seller both get an equitable share of the benefits.
Just for illustration, imagine I have an old Camaro that I’m willing to sell for $5,000. You’re willing to buy it for up to $100,000. If I know you desperately need it, and I negotiate you up to $99,999, then I’m getting almost all the benefits from the trade (you are one dollar away from being indifferent about the exchange). Lots of people think that’s wrong. This might be the intuition behind thinking price gouging is wrong, too.
So you can argue that sweatshops are basically similar (although that’s an interesting empirical question). Maybe sweatshop laborers are just barely better off than their next best option, while the owners are profiting a huge amount from their labor. People might think that’s exploitative, and that for things to be equitable both parties need to get a reasonable cut of the benefits from the exchange. This paper has some more discussion you might find interesting: https://philpapers.org/rec/MAYSEA
I think I understand what you’re saying, so I think the best response to that deontological thinking is to explain how use does not equate to abuse. Similar to how many animal rights advocates make the mistake of thinking that using animals for something is inherently bad, that way of thinking completely ignores the consequences of the actions. The workers are benefitting as well.
There’s a small philosophical literature on the ethics of sweatshops. There are some libertarian type people who defend basically the view you describe, that if people voluntarily work at these places, they must represent their best option, so sweatshops can’t be morally wrong. This paper is representative of that view: https://philpapers.org/rec/ZWOSCA-2
Then there are people who try to argue that sweatshop labor really is wrong nonetheless. One idea is basically Kantian—sweatshop owners treat their employees as a mere means to an end, which is wrong. Another idea is that sweatshop workers are wrongfully exploited. For instance, lots of people have the intuition that in a voluntary exchange, one party shouldn’t use their bargaining power to reap all the gains from the trade. I.e. they think there is a “fair price” where buyer and seller both get an equitable share of the benefits.
Just for illustration, imagine I have an old Camaro that I’m willing to sell for $5,000. You’re willing to buy it for up to $100,000. If I know you desperately need it, and I negotiate you up to $99,999, then I’m getting almost all the benefits from the trade (you are one dollar away from being indifferent about the exchange). Lots of people think that’s wrong. This might be the intuition behind thinking price gouging is wrong, too.
So you can argue that sweatshops are basically similar (although that’s an interesting empirical question). Maybe sweatshop laborers are just barely better off than their next best option, while the owners are profiting a huge amount from their labor. People might think that’s exploitative, and that for things to be equitable both parties need to get a reasonable cut of the benefits from the exchange. This paper has some more discussion you might find interesting: https://philpapers.org/rec/MAYSEA
I think I understand what you’re saying, so I think the best response to that deontological thinking is to explain how use does not equate to abuse. Similar to how many animal rights advocates make the mistake of thinking that using animals for something is inherently bad, that way of thinking completely ignores the consequences of the actions. The workers are benefitting as well.
This article snippet explains it well:
https://philosophicalvegan.com/wiki/index.php/Sweatshop_Products#Distinction_with_Animal_Agriculture
Those papers do seem interesting to look into, I’ll read ’em when I get the chance.