> On the persistence of slavery, what about the use of prison labor to > produce commodities, both in the US and, under the aegis of the > multinationals, in market-stalinist China? There are also the reports of slavery in some African nations, and some prison is clearly coerced, so I agree the slavery issue is a viable one, but I wanted to bring up something else. Clearly prisoners are being exploited as workers and this diminishes the well-being of workers who aren't incarcerated. At the same time, for some convicts the chance to work at some jobs, even for a pittance, is probably seen as very valuable. Moreover, the state benefits financially from their work and this adds to scarce public revenues. So there is some issue about weighing the welfare of the two against each other, unless you think convicts should be entitled to no relief whatsoever. If you say they should both be able to work, that's evading the actual practical choice available at the moment. MBS =================================================== Max B. Sawicky Economic Policy Institute [EMAIL PROTECTED] 1660 L Street, NW 202-775-8810 (voice) Ste. 1200 202-775-0819 (fax) Washington, DC 20036 Opinions above do not necessarily reflect the views of anyone associated with the Economic Policy Institute. ===================================================
