[ExI] Libertarianism wins again...

[BillK]

On Mon, Jul 18, 2011 at 9:00 PM, Kelly Anderson  wrote:
> Light governmental oversight of corporations trying to do the right
> thing is the only solution that works globally. Transparency and data
> are the only things that enable ethical behavior on the part of
> consumers. Use contracts, the only multinational institution that
> suppliers care about.
>
> This guy is a total liberal who has fallen into the logical trap that
> is Libertarianism.
>
>


I fear you are projecting your libertarian hopes where none are intended.

For those who read ten times faster than video there is a transcript here:
<http://dotsub.com/view/1c4bde0e-0547-43a0-9a92-38eed20e508b/viewTranscript/eng>

Auret van Heerden is a union man, fighting for workers' rights.

This works fine in western countries, where organised labour and
governments enforce labour regulations on employers. (Not much liked
by libertarians, I believe).

The problem he is discussing is slave labour in third world countries,
where governments and unions do not operate. His proposed solution is
to order / persuade western multinationals to enforce labour
regulations on their third world suppliers via their supplier
contracts. And western governments will do spot checks on suppliers to
make sure the multinationals are not using slave labour. (And
presumably reprimand the multinationals who misbehave).

Although I think this is a good idea, it doesn't sound especially
libertarian to me.


BillK