While the thirteenth amendment abolished the legal right to own another human being as a slave in the United States, it created an underground market to serve the economic needs and desires that still remained after the amendment was ratified. In fact, comparable cases of prohibition of liquor and prostitution show that illegalization simply moves the problem to the underground market. The only way to end slavery is to address the economic demand for unpaid labor. The reality is that slavery was created to fulfill the economic need for low wage labor and the laws that legally abolished slavery have not addressed this issue. After slavery was legally abolished by the thirteenth amendment the economic demand for low cost labor still remained, forcing slave owners to move the buying and selling of slaves into the underground market.
When the buying and selling of anything is made illegal without addressing the economic demand, people will find a way to continue the trade through an underground market. For example, when the use of alcoholic substances was legally abolished in 1920 alcohol problems worsened when the sale of alcohol became an underground market of organized crime. Alcohol consumption per capita actually increased and America was forced to revoke the prohibition act in 1933.
By addressing the economic demand of anything being bought and sold the trade will be abolished. For instance, Sweden decided to address the issue of prostitution by heavily criminalizing johns, pimps and brothel owners; Sweden saw a drastic decrease in prostitution from the laws they created to eliminate the demand for prostitutes.
The same theory of demand can be directly applied to the issue of slavery. Slave owners make a rational, economic decision to obtain low wage labor from another human being despite the legal implications of that choice. They are aware that there is an endless supply of people and continue to enslave them through illegal, underground markets. Given the dark economic times we are currently facing it is crucial that we take action to eliminate the economic demand for slave labor.
Hall, Wayne. "What Are the Policy Lessons of National Alcohol Prohibition in the United States, 1920–1933?" Addiction 105.7 (2010): 1164-173. Academic Search Complete. Web. 8 Nov. 2011.
Patterson, Jennifer. "Slavery Revisited: Using Economic Reasoning to Teach about the Past and Present." Academic Search Complete. EBSCO, 1 Jan. 2002. Web. 8 Nov. 2011.
Miller, John R. "Slave Trade Combating Human Trafficking." Academic Search Complete. EBSCO, 1 Jan. 2006. Web. 8 Nov. 2011.
This blog brings up a many valid points. With unemployment rate high in the United States the demand for work is high. Individuals may find themselves working for barely a dollar and become caught up in being paid nothing. As we have talked in class slavery has close relation to poverty but is poverty the reason for slavery?
ReplyDeleteAs Taylor said, this blog brings up many valid points. the unemployment rate is driving many to the under ground business of this and that and the other thing, so eliminating that would cure many issues. BUT how do law enforcers catch each and every under ground act? Poverty may be one contributor to modern day slavery, but one of many. Many feel that they have no other chose. It is sad, but a very true reality.
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