A recent article in the NYTimes shows how human trafficking has become a problem of global problem.
If 200 years ago slavery showed a ruthless side of humanity, it seems that today the problem returns, only now, the trade is not in the open, but hidden, fed by drugs, deception, even kidnapping. How could anyone deceive a young girl knowing she will end up in a brothel in a European capital with no passport, beaten, drugged & exploited?
Today, millions of people move away from home to work for little or no money, often under abusive conditions. Since 1994, has been working against the practice. Confronting issues like illegal mining in South America and the forced prostitution of women from the former Yugoslavia, the former Soviet Union and North Africa, the the International Organization for Migration has conceived awareness campaigns tailored to particular countries and cultures. Here are just three examples amongst many:
Vietnam: Many Vietnamese women and girls are trafficked through Dong Tham, An Giang, and Kien Giang to Cambodia for sexual exploitation. In 2004, Cambodian police estimated that more than 50,000 girls were in brothels through Cambodia, many of whom were Vietnamese.
Philippines: Philippine men, women, and girls were trafficked for labor and sexual exploitation to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, South Africa, North America, and Europe. The government and NGO estimates on the number of women trafficked range from 300,000 to 400,000 and the number of children trafficked range from 60,000 to 100,000.
China: Chinese women and children are trafficked for sexual and labor exploitation in Malaysia, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, Europe, Canada, Japan, Italy, Burma, Singapore, South Africa, and Taiwan. Many Chinese are recruited by false promises of employment and are later coerced into prostitution or forced labor. Children are sometimes recruited by traffickers who promise their parents that their children can send remittances back home.
The common denominator of human trafficking is that people are lured into this trap by the promise of a better future.
The issue has ramifications for our own backyard. This article in the New Times exposes how a 15 year old girl is abducted to work as a prostitute in Miami (check out the list of 9 individuals arrested which were involved in the ring). Take this is a bizarre story, a former Miami Beach police officer and his friend arrested for drugging women and then filming them in sex acts. Here is another story.
In light of the theories we've studied in Chapter 2, which is in your opinion the best moral theories that can deal with this problem? Egoism, Utilitarianism or Kant's Categorical Imperative?
I'll close this post next week, Thursday, @ 11pm.
I can't believe, that after log in in today I haven't seen a comment yet..
ReplyDeleteI was busy all weekend, but damn, not that much...
What does that mean?; that silence is a good to our society? WE REALLY DON'T CARE...
We prefer to shut our eyes, and believe in a perfect world...
Engraving ourselves in our over consumption, and A so called "free life".
We enslave others, without knowing it, for most. We always have... But this time, on a much larger scale......
Do I have any comments about "human trafficking"?
Yes, Profit.
Do I have any comments about "slavery"?
Yes, unethical.
Do I have any comments about "slavery in human trafficking"?
Yes, unethical and profitable.
I would need to write a book...
It's sad that now a days we still deal with human trafficking. Women and children are treated with no respect and no mercy. Their kidnappers are acting as an egoist because they are just thinking about them self and the profit they get from selling women and children to others.These people drug them because they know that if they are aware they could not use to make money and meet their needs. It's so sad that someone has that mentality of using others in that way. In this case they (kidnappers)would be hedonistic because they do it for pleasure they enjoy ruining people's life they don't see the victims interest they only see theirs.
ReplyDeleteThe first comment needs polishing. The second has no signature. I need some arguments guys.
ReplyDeletePolishing comment 1.
ReplyDeleteI still see very few comments.
With much deception, I write...
Slavery and Human trafficking has no end.
The "Human", enslaved and trafficked its own species since, its days of existence.
So Called; "Modern Humans" N/C...(HomoSapiens -HomoSapiensSapiens)
How could we let that happen???
Since we are so smart??
How could we let one of our own be trafficked???
Do you really think that a group of apes would enslave one of there own??
I guarantee not.
They exclude the parasite of the community, this one has no choice but to come back, and ask for forgiveness.
A group of Lions, Wolves, Birds, and even all Mammals would never enslave one of there own.
Only in Human Nature... What does it mean?
We can't escape from it?? Its inside us???
The more intelligent we get, the more facilities we have to enslave others.
When I say; WE REALLY DON'T CARE.
I mean, that the world has been blinded!
The illusion of having more, wanting more, has created a new type of Human Race.
Should WE call it: The HomoSelfness Race.
ME< MYSELF< AND I.............
ME< MYSELF< AND I forgot that;
A. 4.5 Billions of people are starving on this planet.
B. 115 Million kids in Africa are dying with diseases related to malnutrition.
C. The over consumption of Americans, could feed the planet 15times per year.
D. We must have a lot of trash...
E. Sexual Predators/Customers in Asia for prostitution are for 95% from the US & Europe.
F. Every single diamond bought in a mall, or any other jewelry type chain in America; has been cut by a child in India.
G.... I could go to Z, and back to A...
Profit and Capitalism are very different in a way.N/C.
I have so many other docs to write.
Would love to write more.
See you in class tomorrow!
Human trafficking is immoral, in my opinion at least. As far as I am concerned,women, children,and men should not be violated in such a way because they have moral rights. The moral theory that would best deal with this problem, in my opinion, is Kant's categorical imperative (Kant, 70). Human trafficking should be universally immoral. To a utilitarianism, if the majority accepts human trafficking because there is pleasure and happiness so be it. Meanwhile, an egoist would accept human trafficking if and only if it maximizes their well-being in the long run (Triff). Kant's categorical imperative states that we should act in a way that we can will the maxim of our actions to become a universal law.I can only embrace something as a moral law only if all other rational beings can also embrace it. For instance, suppose a kidnapper rapes a little girl, applying the universal acceptability, the man would have to be willing to accept it if he were being raped, something he would presumably be unwilling to do. I believe that Kant's categorical imperative would be the best theory for dealing with human trafficking.
ReplyDeleteHuman trafficking is wrong and harmful to its victims, but to the others involved there is a possible argument as to why human trafficking isn’t as bad as everyone makes it seem. As far as the human trafficker, I see egoism and even utilitarianism in this situation. Egoism because to the trafficker, what he is doing is morally right because it is benefitting him in both the short and long run. It may be wrong in the legal sense because it is illegal, but he is making business out of it and making a living out of it. Therefore, if he wasn’t doing it he wouldn’t be making business, thus he wouldn’t have money and he wouldn’t be able to support himself and whoever else is dependent of him. Altogether, this business that is “wrong” is actually right for the trafficker because it is promoting a great deal of interest for him.
ReplyDeleteUtilitarianism states that an action is right if it brings the greatest possible balance of good over bad for everyone involved. In this situation, both the trafficker and the consumer might argue that although it is bad for the victim, this “business” brings a greater amount of good and pleasure to everyone else affected. For every one victim there are one or more traffickers making business and numerous consumers feeding it, while leaving satisfied with the product. If there was no product (being the victims) there would be no business and no satisfied consumers.
The issue of “human trafficking” has become modern term for contemporary slavery and forced labor, among with other things, such as the commercial sex trade, mass produce, domestic servitude, and tourist industry and child soldiers. This issue has deferent aspects where we can analyze it.
ReplyDeleteFirst the people that lead this organization, this criminal don’t have any ethics they only think about their self-interest violating any human right for other people. Second the henchmen that are doing the action of kidnapping and drugging. This people know that are doing something wrong, but, they are getting pay for this, so they do it any way. This people are utilitarian, they don’t have any interest what is going to happen to their victims they just thing about themselves and the financial benefit that is this going to represent to them.
Next is the person that is using this service such as sex or cheap labor work. In my opinion this people are utilitarian as well. They are getting benefits of human pleasure and some people get actually gets pleasure on taking advantage of this king of domination.
Finally and not last the people that actually know that they are in danger and they still go because of financial situation. Sometime there are a lot of ignorance about this type of subjects, some women thing that they are getting bless because they got a great opportunity of modeling in France, but the true is that they are going to be future prostitutes. These kings of people are just ignorance about the world that surrounds them. So there is a lot of part that we need to put together in order to see who’s really fault is it.
KATHRYN MERLINO
ReplyDeleteHuman trafficking is a huge global issue. Each moral theory relates to this problem.
Obviously the people behind these operations are Egoists because they are solely thinking about their self in the long run. The Egoists are making a huge profit and will continue to contribute to human trafficking unless at some point it becomes detrimental to their well-being.
Utilitarianism believes that so long as majority of the people are satisfied than the act is morally correct. In a situation like human trafficking majority is happy with the situation. The head of the organizations and the men and women paying for these services are pleased with what is going on. However the people involved and actually being sold for sex may not be so happy but in this case they are the minority.
The moral theory that would be best used to rule human trafficking as immoral would be Kant’s Categorical Imperative. This is because this theory says that an act is moral if people can will the maxim to become a universal law. Meaning if it is something that everyone would not be comfortable with, no exceptions, it would be immoral. In the case of human trafficking everyone would have to consider if they would like being sold for sex, or if it were there kids or family members, if it would still be acceptable. The people paying for these services would have to consider if they were the ones performing these acts or if it were their own children. Of course you will get an occasional pervert who would not mind either way, but majority would not be okay with it and would rule human trafficking immoral.
Kimberly Liriano
ReplyDeleteHuman trafficking is a modern-day form of slavery where millions of people are subjected too, all different genders and ages. They are faced with major and horrific conflicts such as; being forced, threatened, abused, exploited and being deceived. It is inhumane and dehumanizing, the complete opposite of freedom and dignity. The people in charge of these acts would be considered egoistic and barely utilitarian. Even though Kant's theory and philosophy addresses and permits free will he also advocates human right. Someone on the end of this trade isn't getting either of these things. His concept conveys one of a universal moral, it being obvious by the way human trafficking is described that it is a negative evil thing. Therefore Kant cannot agree with such acts since it violates the victims free will and human rights. Kant's categorical Imperative states that human rights must be kept whole, no matter what may cost the powers that be. It is injustice (human trafficking) and yes it has flourished because of demand for it's services. Kant's moral theory is the best and most effective theory that can open ones eyes to the issue at hand. Though there are certain loop holes the operates of these organizations can bring to light, the universal truth is that it is wrong. This can be surely proven by asking the very people who kidnap and exploit innocent victims of they would put their own loved ones in those harsh conditions. Most definitely their answer would be no. You treat others how you would want to be treated. Basically it's wrong, evil, and universally immoral and those committing said crimes should be severely punished accordingly.
Kimberly Liriano.
YULIET
ReplyDelete" Human Trafficking "
Imperative states that we should act in a way that we can will the maxim of our actions to become a universal law.Each year about 17,500 individuals are brought into the U.S and held against their will as victims of human trafficking, what would be the best moral action to solve this issue???. There is an estimated number or 60,000 victims of human trafficking each year.Trafficking affects both us as U.S citizens and the victims. Victims are brought into the U.S with work and money proposals, even for prostitution ,rape and drugs....human trafficking is the most horrible thing happening in the U.S.
The moral theory that would be best used to rule human trafficking as immoral would be Kant's categorical imperative, this theory says an act is immoral if people maxim to become a universal law to be applied to everyone no exception. in my opinion human trafficking is not only immoral, those smugglers are playing with lives of human beings against their will.
HERE ARE SOME ONLINE RESEARCH ON HUMAN TRAFFICKING :
statistics: are often hard to come by in this field. Trafficking is an illegal industry so finding out just how many victims there are annually is difficult. Conservative estimates say that 15,000 people are trafficked into the U.S. annually, while others guess the number is high at 60,000. It is reasonable to say that whichever number or wherever in between the truth lay, the number is one too many. Finding local statistics may also be difficult, but local organizations are better equipped to tell you how big of a problem trafficking is in your area. Ideally, you need to know the number of persons trafficked locally, the number of victims presenting as emergency care patients, and the number of survivors who escaped because of hospital intervention. Also important to know are which facilities the referrals are coming from. States with the greatest concentration of trafficked persons are New York, California, and Florida; Washington DC also has a large trafficked population.
Stacy Leandre
ReplyDeleteHuman trafficking has been going on for a century and still going. People all over the world that are captured, deals with major and dreadful conflicts such as; being forced, threatened, abused, exploited and being deceived. The people in charge of these acts would be considered egoistic and Kant and not utilitarian.
In my opinion that best describe the moral theories that can deal with this problem is egoism. Why egoism? Because the people that capture the helpless people think the actions that he/she is doing is right if it maximizes their well being in the long run in life. I think this story is based on egoism due to the fact that the person that is trafficking people in different countries all over the world thinks they are doing something good for themselves. They are thinking they can convince the people that they are abducting by telling the person if they do this their family will be safe or living good forever, which the person that has been kidnapped gets convinced and goes along with it until they escape or die, while the abductor are getting paid without getting hurt themselves. Instead they are sending the abductees’ to work for them. But this is also where Kant categorical comes in to place for human trafficking. It comes into place for the reason that we should always act in such a way that we can will the maxim of our action to become a universal law. Meaning if everyone is not comfortable with human trafficking than that shouldn’t be taken place in an everyday conflict, which is immoral.
Human trafficking is a modern version of slavery.Many young girls are transported by traffickers to otherss countries all around the world with the promise of a better life but what this girls dont know is that once they get to the other countries they will be force to prostitution or force to work with out getting pay.I think it is bad for anyone to hold such power over anyone else.Of course not enough is done to stop this. Reason why is of course because the origin of this slavery are very diverse and can not all be addressed.Many of this young girls or males,ect, die just by the progres of going from one coumtrie to otherone because the unhuman conditions in which they are transported.Thing like human trafficking and other wrong things like this make me wonder why we "HUMANS" (have the ability to think,can make a difference between right and wrong)can do stuff like this. Dont we are all the same ? I mean we all have 2 legs,2 eyes,etc,so why we do things to our own kind.Is that fair or right? The other point of view that i got to this human trafficking things going on is that thanks to that, many people that imigrate to other countries by human traffickin did really had the chance and the portunity of a better life.Do I think this should keep happening ? NO,many people die by it also.How we can stop this? NO IDEA but what i am sure of is that something needs to be done.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion the best moral theory that can deal with the problem of human trafficking is Kant's categorical imperative. The reason for this is because Kant theory states "everyone human being has an inherent worth resulting from the sheer possession of rationality.(pg 72)Therefore, we must always act in a way that respects humanity in others and ourselves. In addition, universal acceptability is another way of viewing Kant's categorical imperative.For instance, if I want to promote human trafficking I would have to be willing to advocate human trafficking even though people that are being trafficking are being sexually exploited. Universal acceptability states that we can embrace something as moral law only if all other rational being can embrace it. That is why I believe human trafficking is immoral, but also why Kant's categorical imperative is the best moral theory that can deal with human trafficking.
ReplyDeleteHuman trafficking is about immoral as slavery was about 200 years ago to most people but unfortunately, to others it might be quiet normal and nothing may seem wrong with sending out children to forced labor and prostitution. That is why all three moral theories are able to deal well with this problem. The theory that handles this situation best is Kant’s categorical imperative. Without exceptions, this theory states how if something is not acceptable by everyone then it is immoral. In the case of human trafficking, the children and persons who are not in charge would be uncomfortable and do not accept what they are being put through, making human trafficking immoral. The universal law states that for something to be moral it must be right for everyone, many people can agree that what is being done in such countries mentioned is not right, especially for children and young adults being victimized.
ReplyDeleteKathia said
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, Human Trafficking is really a serious problem in our world today. It is the largest trade slavery that history has ever known. For Egoism, they are thinking about themselves because they are making money out of it. Also, it shows that those traffickers are acting to cause more pain, suffering in people’s lives. In addition, Human Trafficking involves degradation; low-self-esteem. I would say an egoist will find human trafficking acceptable because it maximizes their well-being in life. I believe that Kant’s categorical imperative appears to be best theory to condemn human trafficking as an immoral action.
Kant’s categorical imperative says an action is right if only it can be willed as a universal law. Therefore, if everyone agrees that human trafficking is a serious issue, there should no exceptions, this act is immoral. Well, in Kant’s second formulation, we should always treat others as an end not as a mean. Why? Because everyone is born freely. So that means you should act in a way that you treat humanity, whether is your own person or in the person of any other, never take someone as a mean to an end but as an end. Finally, for Kant’s categorical imperative, human trafficking is not a moral action because it is not willed as a universal law and it is an attempt to an individual right of freedom.
Nordy Perez i commented on september 6 @ 11:33
ReplyDeleteHuman trafficking is a serious problem that everyone seems to just brush off. Innocent men, women, and children have been lured into prostitution and most of them have been abducted. I do not see how any part of human trafficking would be considered moral. Out of all three theories that we discussed in chapter two I think that Kant’s Categorical Imperative Theory would best address this social issue. Egoism would also be connected to this problem only because of the people who are in charge of these acts. They only see their self-interest and that is what makes them do and see their actions as being correct. However, not everyone accepts this. Kant’s theory “says that we should always act in such a way that we can will the maxim of our action to become a universal law.” (pg. 70) I believe this theory connects well with this issue because human trafficking is just another form of slavery. Those people that are going through this have no human rights and no freedom, I believe they are being treated as a means to an end because they are being used and mistreated as human beings. Therefore Kant’s theory is the best theory to relate with this problem because this issue would be universally accepted as being immoral.
ReplyDeleteMichelle Estevez
YESENIA LUIS
ReplyDeleteThe whole idea of human trafficking sounds disgusting. How can this even happen? Can we humans be so insensitive to destroy the lives of so many people that easily? Because it is hard to believe that a little girl that has been sexually coerced by adult males at such a young age will have a happy and healthy life. Even if by luck she gets out of that hopeless situation, it's going to take a long time and many therapies to erase that horrible experience of her head. As a psychologist I know that some people even don't make it out of these traumatizing situations. It is just sad. The whole situation is unfathomable. I just can't conceive it.
In my opinion, the best ethical principal to work around this situation is to apply Kant's moral principle of: "humans should not be treated as an end to a mean but as an end in themselves". It is beyond morally incorrect to take advantage of innocent people and exploit them in this way. I don't even think a mentally healthy egoist individual will consent to this situation as much as it may sound profitable. We have to bear in mind that these kidnappers may not be mentally healthy and they might suffer from social personality disorder which desensitizes them towards society's well being. If Kant's principle was put in practice more often, we wouldn't have human trafficking or many other problems that concern the respect for individual's human rights.
Raul Bolufe said...
ReplyDeleteThis has to be one of the most immoral acts that is going on in the world today. I do not understand how people can even put a price on young girls for sex or labor. In my opinion it is a serious problem and I can not believe how fast this business is growing according the statistics in the articles.
I do indeed agree to the fact that it is an egoistic act. For those who are unsure of what egoism is; egoism is basically being motivated only for self interest. Kidnapping and exploiting girls against their will just to make a few dollars has egoistic written all over it. The traffickers are only concerned about how this young girl or this person that they kidnapped will better their self interest, whether it is with money, sex, labor, etc. However I disagree that human trafficking is an example of Kants categorical imperative. Kants theory says that an action is right only if that action is right with everyone else. This is the only minor fault that Kants theory has. There are always going to be a group of people or a minority that have a different opinion on an action.
The utilitarianism theory says that the proper course of action is good only if it maximizes the well being of the majority of the society. I believe we all can agree that if human trafficking comes to an end it can and will better our society as a whole. Than again there are arguments to counter that which makes the utilitarianism theory also have faults. Human trafficking is wrong and immoral and in my opinion is growing because authorities have ignored the fact that it is going on in their own society, this should start to be taken more seriously.
We don’t pay any attention to it until we wake up in back of a van with are arms and feet ties up and our lips taped shut so that no one hears us screaming. It may seem impossible, but human trafficking is an ongoing business. These business men kidnap these young men and women and have them engage in sexual intercourse on a non-consensual basis. I can agree that this is equivalent to slavery. We all have the human right of freedom, so why are these money-hungry and heartless people exploiting and depriving these young men and women of their freedom?
ReplyDeleteHuman trafficking falls into one part of the spectrum. Egoism comes into play because the heartless people supporting the business are only thinking of themselves. They are more worried about the income that the morality of their actions. It is very devastating to think that people can actually sleep at night knowing the fact that they are ruining lives of innocent people. Yes money can buy us the materials we want and need, but there are more humane ways to bring in income.
It would be best if utilitarianism came into play. Yes, the business makes money, but more lives are being destroyed than benefitted. Think about it. The victims all most likely have families and friends. Everyone is being negatively affected by this.
Just be more informed and educate those who have not a clue of the human trafficking business because it can happen to you.
Jessica Jean-Baptiste
It is in my opinion that most people (clients) who take place in this "human trafficing" are egoist. They only care about themselves, without thought of what other people think. Human trafficing is taking place in just about every major city around the world. I can remember walking the streets of New York a few years ago, and a woman coming up to me asking "would I like a young girl tonight". I agree with Jessica in the sense that no one believes it will happen to them, however, there are a lot of sick people out there, who only care about their personal satisfaction, rather than what society think about them. For Example, there was an episode of Hawaii Five-O (pilot episode) in which a smugler promises to bring over family members from China, only to turn around, and turn them into sex slaves. He took advantage of peoples need to bring loved ones over and turned it into a business. This is a world wide problem that goes pretty much under the radar as far as internaitonal news is concerned.
ReplyDeleteAs i mentioned earlier, the egoist people who take part in sexual acts with these prostitues, many of whom are under age, are only doing so to please a personal need, regardless of what the rest of society thinks about it. Another problem with human trafficing, is by the time the child is free, their life has been destroyed. All that they have known is prostitution & being drugged to do things against ones will.
Egoism, Utilitarianism, and Kant's Categorical Imperative are all concrete theories, but when it comes down to the topic of human trafficking, a very thin line is drawn. In a lot of regions such as South India for example, human trafficking is revered by society. It is something that has been in their culture for centuries, so for them, it is a morally just practice. They see nothing wrong with it and most of the women involved are there voluntarily.
ReplyDeleteThis is where the thin line is drawn. When you attempt to tell a society that a practice of theirs, no matter how taboo it may be, is immoral and wrong, what you are doing is trying to uproot years upon years of a certain obstinate mindset. Imagine telling the American people that eating without the usage of silverware is the 'right' thing to do. That we should eat with our hands. In our society, eating with your hands (certain foods do not pertain) is a horrifying display of bad manners. Our mindset is such that the proper way to consume food is with the aid of utensils. Other places in the world would differ on this opinion. Now imagine telling South Indians that the trafficking of humans is wrong. For most of them, it is the only way of life and the only way to make a living.
I realize that human trafficking and the ethics of eating are on different spectrums of importance, but my example was used merely to elicit the agreed-upon behaviorisms of certain cultures to help paint a better picture.
As I said before, all three theories are pretty concrete but when it comes down to this issue, I personally don't believe that there is a definite answer. However, if I had to choose one, I would go with Kant's Categorical Imperative. Although it's seemingly the rightest out of the three, it falls prey to the matter of universal acceptability in which trafficking may be wrong to one group, but completely acceptable to another.
Having said that, I personally believe and know for a fact, that human trafficking is immoral simply because the trafficker is exploiting the victim's rights, which is to deny them freedom. Everyone person in the world deserves the right to freedom. But when you are dealing with extreme ego and utilitarian ethics in this matter, freedom is almost always skewed for the sake of one's self interest.
Human trafficking is like that of a circle, it has no end and is hidden in plain sight. Not only does it include sex trafficking but it also includes forced labor, child soldiers, domestic servitude, and child labor and trafficking. It is immoral and no matter how much we try to stop it, it will find a way to continue and the most helpless victims will continue to be persuaded with the promise of a better life and employment.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion the moral theory that best fits to deal with this problem is Kant’s Categorical Imperative. This theory fits because it does not revolve around “what maximizes my interest” as egoism does. Egoist use personal advantage to measure an action’s rightness and use it to maximize their well being in the long run(Triff). It can only be Kant’s theory because it states that “ we should always act in such a way that we can will the maximum of our action to become a universal law.(Kant 70). For instance, many believe that human trafficking is bad and should be banned. So that in itself is grounds for the universal law of conduct.
In today's society we as people have our minds set where we only pay attention to what affects us. When others speak on subject matters such as slavery or human trafficking we are surprised because when we think slavery and human trafficking we think movies or Africa where this happens. Now when this 15 year old girl was kidnapped and turned into a prostitute in our own backyard things become more real cause it could be your relative or friend or you next. This scum,bottom feeders that would commit this crimes. I would have to put them in the utilitarianism not that their going to give any happiness to this poor families that lost their loved ones, but to this scum's bosses and making their families happier with all the money they bring in. This business has been on Earth since the beginning of time so it's going to take major task just to slowed it down. Their is no really any positive way to see slavery so its hard to put just in more than one category.
ReplyDeleteRaquel Miller
ReplyDeleteAccording to the article human trafficking has become a problem of global problems. In my opinion the best moral theories that can deal with this problem could be Kant’s Catergorical Imperative (pg.70). This states that we should always act in such a way that we can will maxim of our action to become a universal law. For example, if you were to make a promise you did not intend to keep, it is impossible to will as a universal law the governing your action. I also think that human beings are not to be treated as mere objects; however it gives a disapproval to prostitution. I think that human trafficking and prostitution immoral and will be hard to try and resolve, more so because the use of human bodies a mere object of sexual pleasure alone. And that revolves around social afflictions like violence and physical abuse. Last I think that if everyone comes together it would allow people from different cultures to live in peace. It will also help people respect others rights, and improve their lives. I think that we as people could put in effort to find ways to allow the decrease in violence and sexual exploitation. In closing human trafficking, sexual slavery, abuse of prostitutes, and humanity should be looked at more cautiously. With this being said everyone should have the right to freedom, however Egoism and Utilitarianism seems to find its way to where no one can have freedom. The Kant Categorical Imperative I think is the best moral theory that can deal with human trafficking.
In my opinion, human trafficking is just as immoral as slavery 200 years ago. It is a shame that some people refuse to believe that this is going on in their own society. Unfortunately these days some people value money over human life, and they're willing to do just about anything to get it. I do believe that this is an egotistic act, these people do this with no regard for human life, they see it simply as a means to get a quick buck. They don't even see their victims as human beings, but as objects. I also do believe that this act of human trafficking can be compared to Kant's categorical imperative because they're treating people (their victims) as a means to an end....taking everything they have, just so that they can make money and benefit themselves. However, the utilitarianism theory states "we should always act to produce the greatest possible balance of good over bad for everyone affected by our actions." (pg 62) This I agree with the most because....if it is possible to put human trafficking to an end, it would benefit our entire society. Sure, this can be argued against, but I personally feel that this is the best moral theory that can deal with this growing problem.
ReplyDeleteCan you imagine being told that you’re going to receive a better job with better pay, and be put in a better position than you were in your own country? So you arrive in this location far from where you call home, with these people that you do not know. The next thing you realize that your identification with your passport have been taken away. And now you’re being beaten and forced to do drugs, now you’re someone’s prisoner or sex slave. Or imagine even being kidnapped and put in this situation, no one deserves this to happen to them. But yet it’s happening probably as we speak, this horrific issue is human trafficking. It becomes more shocking when this is happening so close to us and in our own backyard. Like for example, it was mentioned in a Miami case two 15 year old girls were taken to a warehouse and rapped by six men and transported from Orlando to Miami forced to become prostitutes here in Miami. Their just children and do not deserve those things to happen to them. Not only is it happening in our home but it’s also happening in all different parts of the world like Vietnam, Philippines and china just to name a few. In this issue human beans are being treated as a mean to an end not as an end, there freedom is being completely taken from their hands. If only these organization of traffickers weren’t so immoral and really realize what they’re doing to their own species. These women are the ages of their sister or daughter. Taneisha Rodriguez
ReplyDeleteHuman trafficking , it is most definatley a haynus and cruel, evil act. In an incredibly Broad accept it may be considered to be an egoistic act, vaguely. All moral theories can have a point of view for these vicious acts. Trafficking and sexually exploiting people of all ages and genders sadly does benefit many individuals, but not enough people. It's safe to say it's a negative thing and morally atrocious. Kant's categorical imperative theory is obviously the one that makes most sense to adress this issue. Nobody deserves to be treated the way these victims are treated. The theory states that you should do on to others as you'd wish to be treated. It's basically good against evil. People may have different opinions and perceptions of what good is depending on the situation, but in instances like this it is obvious that theses things shouldn't go on, no matter what reward the operates of these organizations acquire.
ReplyDeleteNoel Alerte
ReplyDeleteWomen trafficking must be the cause of every one of us. I understand that a lot of organizations including human right are working tireless to stop people who choose women as a way to do business. However, one way or another every one of us need to involve preventing those people who use our children as their private properties to make money. Women trafficking are a serious problem. Governments need to take this problem seriously. We are on the twentieth first century; we should not let a human being own another human being. Most of the times many women from the developing countries accept offer from people who come from the United States, France, Canada and so on that they will bring them here in the United States; however, the women must work for them. Those women sometimes don’t even know what kind the job they are going to do, but they accept the offer anyway. This is one way most of the times that women find themselves trapped in an exploitative and abuse system.
Human trafficking is one of the worst and oldest issues in the World. This issue is completly immoral and will never be moral because nobody is going to say and declare that treating people without respect and abusing them is now good to do. These people who are in charge of trafficking are people who does not have any sense of morality. These people are egoists. They only think about their own interest, and they do this because they get richest faster and happier because of that.
ReplyDeleteLike egoists, they have hedonism too. There are a lot of organizations that are dealing with this, but in my opinion, this issue is not going to slow down if the government of every country in those continents do something about it. These issues are not going to stop any sooner, these people are very cruel and they do not have even selflove. This act is cruel and wrong and we the people do not realize what others are suffering. The trafficants are people who do not have a life, values and they will never be acccepted in our society.
This is not acceptable universally and this is when Kant's categorical imperative belongs.
The practice of human trafficking is one that has been around since the eradication of legal slavery. So the egoist’s practice of human trafficking isn't one that was amassed with great difficulty. From the mining of diamonds in the mountains of Africa to European prostitution rings every trafficker seems to have the idea that a human being is a means to an end. Although it seems that the people being blame for these horrible atrocities are the offenders but what about those that "contribute" to these crime, it isn't that their scared. To serve everyone’s best interest isn't what’s on the minds of the "contributes" No! Not even in the slightest their goal is to get what they want to help better themselves in the long run.
ReplyDeleteAn example of one such case is the buying of blood diamond: Companies buy the thousands of diamonds out of Africa that are mined by refugee's capture by the same rebels that have attacked their village in an effort to prolong a war for siege of the government. All of the means of using people as a way to further one’s own ideals or even means to obtain something is immoral no matter if it be small or as big as the trafficking of human life for currency.
Slavery remains ongoing, carried on to the 21st century with a more corrupt premise now than just the demand for cheap labor. Human trafficking is a growing phenomenon that breaks the will of a victim down by any means, artificially or brutally, to achieve the disposed profit from prostitution and exploitation as well. The people behind these operations, like any other criminals, take a modern approach to capturing their victims, opposed to the risky and barbarian method of kidnapping. They disguise themselves in wardrobe and personality and lure prospecting victims in desperate times by offering a more promising future, instead induce them heavy in drug addiction and sell them as slaves and sex objects. Philosopher Immanuel Kant constantly stressed the goodness of an act by means and not by means to an end, which in the case of these victims would have, in fact, provided them with a more prosperous future. Clearly, the trafficking of people is wrong and immoral. It is an act of irrational egoist properties and must come to a halt. Kant's categorical imperative concept exposes the wrong in this advanced slave trade and could help improve the situation or bring it down completely, simply by applying that the use of other people's time and ability against their will for self interest is not proper conduct, regardless of any authority under similar circumstances.
ReplyDeleteIt saddens me how this new form of slavery is still being repeated today. To lure somebody into something so painful mentally and physically for a job or life which is falsely being promised is beyond wrong. And to think they would have some mercy for the children, but no the kids are the main target. Using their freedom, sex, and broken promised futures shouldn't be used against them. The people that do this has so much greed for money that they don't even notice the hurt and pain in the eyes of woman, man, and even kids that could be their family that are trying to find a better life in this world. Their egoist for putting this people against their own will, but no choice to go on with something they think is guaranteed come to find out the life their living now will be where they should have stayed. The kidnappers are thinking of theirselves only by feeding this people into deception than later getting paid for sex slaves which will lead to the woman getting drugged and abused to the point where their basically robots or even living to die. If society would look at it and accept it for their entertainment it would fall under the utilitarianism. On the other hand, if we were to apply the categorical theory by Kant the kidnappers wouldn't like to be in the slaves position, so it would be best to use Kants theory.
ReplyDeleteHuman trafficking is just wrong, and those who enslave others for profit are egoist. They care not for the people they're hurting when they commit this horrible act. These people only have their self interest in mind. These egoistic people don't care at what cost they get money. These egoists are destroying the lives of so many but are only worried on how much profit they, other than worrying about the families that must endure the pain of losing a loved one to human trafficking. This act of slavery must be brought to light and be acknowledged by more of society. If these egoists keep on enslaving the innocents we will just let society take a step back in where slavery was okay and not seen as such an immoral act.
ReplyDeleteIt is sad and hard to believe that still now; we deal with such horrific acts such as human trafficking. It might not be mentioned a lot on the news, or read on a daily bases, but the sad reality is that no matter how much we try to hide it or stop it, it won’t stop. I believe the best moral theories that can deal with this problem are Kant's Categorical Imperative and Egoism.
ReplyDeleteIn the book, Kant answer’s this question “What determines whether an act is right?”An act is morally right if and only if we can will it to become a universal law of conduct.” In this case, human trafficking isn’t morally right, nor can it be a universal law of conduct because it isn’t and will never be a universal acceptability. This is an issue that is trying to be stopped, and majority of beings can’t come to comprehend why such acts are done, and of course no one will believe that this is something moral or that a great explanation can be given to defend human trafficking. Much less does this conduct follow two of the most important formulations of his (Kant’s) categorical imperative which are, “An action is right only if the agent would be willing to be so treated were the positions of the parties reversed.” and “One must always act so as to treat other people as end in themselves.”
I also think that egoism is another moral theory that deals with this problem, because by such acts the egoist is only pursuing to maximize his or her well-being. This person only cares about number one, and no one else. As the book states an egoist is only after self-interest and the personal advantage this will bring them in the short and/or long run. These innocent people are only being lied to, to benefit the liar (traffickers) who are in charge of making false hopes. The more power, wealth, and self-interest this person obtains will never question the morality of their acts. It will automatically be thought as “moral.” If it’s right or wrong, good or bad, that doesn’t just come into question for an egoist and to what level they have to go to obtain what they want.
This is the perfect example that we as humans use each other as means to an end rather than just an end. Its sad how we as humans can be so cruel to each other,our society as a whole can be just crappy in regards to respecting each others natural human rights. The fact that human trafficking has gone on for so long is disheartening. Not only is it saddening but ignorant as well. We ourselves can be ignorant of the natural right of others and those who partake in human trafficking are prime examples. No one ones another person's life to the point of selling them off or forcing them into labor. In fact no one ones any other's life,period. We are often ignorant of this fact and our actions prove otherwise. Not only does more legal action need to be taken against such a vile crime. Not only do people need to become more aware of daily situations they may be caught in BUT We as a whole need to become less ignorant of the fact that we are not only all equal but also human. If one cries then all are capable of crying,If one laughs then we are all capable of laughing,etc. No one is better or has a more divine right over anyone else. We as a human race need, and should, be reminded of that everyday.
ReplyDeleteHuman trafficking is yet another moral glitch in today's society. It is something that most people would agree to be against, due to the destructive and tragic nature of the issue. However, it is another global travesty that we feel we have no control over due to it's already established and enormous reign. While it is partially true that a phenomenon of such power and deadly repertoire is hard to stop as individuals, we must understand that as a majority we have the moral right to act upon what we feel is wrong. From a utilitarian standpoint, we can argue that although the sick and twisted empire (that is this ongoing slave trade) brings benefits to those harboring the victims, it has absolutely no positive effects on our society and even less on those less lucky that are victim to it. That system of 'business" puts at risk the lives of innocent people on a daily and we must do everything we can AS a people to stop it. After all, as individuals, we would be petrified at just the thought of one of our own daughters or fellow loved ones being desecrated in such a manner. I feel that a lot more can be done in light of the issue, as a people, to bring an overall sense of security and comfort TO our people.
ReplyDeleteAfter years of fighting for equal rights for all human beings, we still see slavery all over the world today. Unsuspecting children are being forced into prostitution and labor under harsh conditions. Parents of these young children are being promised a better life for the whole family, unknowingly condemning their children to a life of torture, rape, and emotional anguish. As human beings, these individuals that are being sold into the sex trade and labor forces are entitled respect, honor, and value. These children, and sometimes even young adults, are victims of greed and are being denied their human rights, freedom and dignity. There is no justification for these innocent people being forced into such a cruel life. These people essentially are slaves and are being treated as a means to an end as opposed to a means to an end. We also discussed in class the meaning of ‘universal acceptability,” would the ‘slave drivers’ want their mothers, wives, children, being sold into this trade? The answer is probably no, however, they continue with these horrific operations. The ‘practice’ of human trafficking is inhumane and immoral, and we, as an educated community must inform the world population of these injustices taking place.
ReplyDeleteKarla G. Huari
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, human trafficking is morally wrong. Freedom is something that everyone deserves and no one has the right to take that away from someone. The fact that some people are abusing children and even turning 15 year old adolescent girls into prostitutes is sickening. What is even more disturbing is that it is happening right here in Miami. Such depraved acts should not occur in this world. Unfortunately, not everyone's moral compass points north.
Some people support the moral theory of egoism, which according to the Shaw and Barry textbook is the view that equates morality with self interest. Egoists believe that the only moral obligation they have is to themselves. These people would argue that it is in the best interest of the captor to deceive others and force them into labor in order for the captor and the captor's family to have easier and quicker financial stability. However, one of the main problems with egoism is that it ignores blatant wrongs.
Another moral doctrine is utilitarianism. Utilitarians follow the doctrine that we should always act to produce the greatest possible balance of good over bad for everyone. While this sounds like a reasonable theory, it does have its downfalls. "Like egoism, utilitarianism focuses on the results of an action, not on the character of the action itself." Not only that but it is also unfair because it "concerns itself with the sum total of happiness produced, not with how that happiness is distributed." According to utilitarianism you can say that human trafficking is immoral because while it does bring some happiness to the trafficker, it brings great amount of grief to the people being held against their will. It therefore harms more people than it benefits.
To continue, i think the theory that would best solve this problem would be Kant's categorical imperative which states that humans should always act in such a way that we can will the maxim of our action to become a universal law. This theory commands unconditionally. That means that if the maxim is no human should be enslaved, then that is "necessarily binding on everyone, regardless of his or her specific goals or desire, regardless of the consequences." Furthermore, for a maxim to have universal acceptability it must be deemed moral by all rational beings. This means "all rational beings thinking impartially and rationally accept it regardless of whether they are the doers or the receivers of the actions." For a trafficker to deem this action moral, he or she would have to put themselves in the shoes of the person being trafficked and be able to accept what is being done to them. An act he/she would most likely be unwilling to do.
Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion Human trafficking is considered to be very immoral. On the other hand, in other countries such as India selling a young girl is not considered to be immoral or better yet as we call it prostitution. They live by an ancient tradition that falls in line to this happening. Its and ethical concept that they go by. Meaning that the way they do is probably what is best for society.
This egotistical way that we live by tells us that as long as we are making money we don't have to worry about the harm that we are doing. The actions that we take can have a very powerful affect upon others that we do not see. You're taking away the life of a 9 year old somewhere in Africa to sell them for sexual purposes. People end up drugging the girl making her do things that other wise her being conscience she wouldn't want to do.
Sometimes you are entitled to do something that you have no other choice to do. For example, if you have no money to feed your children and you are offered a job at a strip club you're going to take it because you have no other choice. Its the only way of survival that you have for yourself and your kids.
Kimberly Ponce