Commentary: Child Labour, Companies, and Precautions

Abstract

The report on the cottonseed production in India will probably leave few readers indifferent. The fact that children are still forced to labour at the age of six to fourteen will probably in most of us cause a spontaneous moral reaction: those who make use of child labour do wrong. This thought is associated with a feeling of disapproval. That we react this way indicates that, regarding this issue, certain moral norms are important for us. One such moral norm has traditionally been called the “principle of non-maleficence”. This principle states that we must not harm persons or other living beings or, more generally, that we must not bring about evil. Child labour is an evil. We ought not to employ children. But the report is also about indirect involvement in child labour. We are indirectly involved when we, for example, buy goods from someone who makes use of child labour. We then contribute to the continuation of child labour for that person. An objection to such conduct is that it clashes with another norm which in ethics usually is called the “principle of beneficence”, for this principle says that we ought to prevent or to remove harm or evil and that we ought to promote good. Moral norms pithily express demands which we, morally speaking, must not ignore. If we refer to moral norms such as the principles mentioned, this has two favourable consequences. First, the norms can support our spontaneous moral reaction to child labour. Second, and above all, they can help us to think through the moral problems of the case. The moral problems of the case which I will focus on emerge from the discussion between the coalition of NGOs and Unilever. The first issue is whether the moral norms of not causing harm, of preventing harm and removing harm actually apply to a company. Is it possible to claim that moral norms which are valid for persons also have validity for companies? I will sketch two lines of reasoning that lead to conflicting results. The second issue is about a company’s precautions. Assuming that the moral norms do apply to a company, what precautions should a company take in order to prevent involvement in child labour? In conclusion I will make two suggestions about precaution policies.