You've probably seen "The World's Smallest Political Quiz" which is often used by Libertarians to introduce the "politically homeless" to the differences between members of the Libertarian, Republican, and Democratic parties. In that poll, a person's feelings on the rightness of government regulating certain aspects of personal and economic life are explored. Here's my response,
The World's Smallest Morality Quiz
PREMISE: The CEO of a clothing retailer is called before a Congressional Committee to explain the working conditions at a maquiladora which manufactures clothing he sells. At the maquiladora, female workers who become pregnant are forced to have abortions as a condition of employment; workers who fall behind in production quotas are physically beaten, and all workers are kept behind barbed wire during working hours to keep them from stealing. Employment is voluntary, however, and no one is forced to remain employed.
Is there an injustice here? What response below comes closest to your personal response?
- The working conditions at the clothing factory are a serious injustice. How can I help arm the workers to seize the plant from its owners?
- The working conditions at the clothing factory are a serious injustice. How can I devise a tax or regulation to deal with the problem?
- The working conditions at the clothing factory are a serious injustice. How can I use moral suasion to convince the owners to change their employment practices and to convince consumers to strive to purchase more justly-produced goods? Oh, and by the way, why are private corporations being forced to explain their nonfraudulent actions?
- Forcing private sector corporations to defend their nonfraudulent actions is a serious injustice. The market price is the just price. No one is forced to work there. Any undesirable condition is ultimately the fault of and would not have happened but for some government intervention somewhere.
- The working conditions at the clothing factory are unfortunate, but what the market justly determines that the workers deserve. How can I help the workers improve their skills so they may deserve better working conditions?
- The real injustice is high prices for clothing for my family. How can I acquire lower priced clothing for my family?
