Capitalism & Sex Trafficking: My Musings on the Communist Manifesto
In an attempt to give my brain some exercise, I recently picked up a copy of the Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Frederick Engels. Published in 1848, this important political document popularized the term capitalism, which characterizes today’s global economic system.
If I had written an article on this a couple of decades ago, there is a good chance I would have been bombarded with verbal attacks, strong opinions, and perhaps even an accusation or two of being a communist. But today “terrorist” is the fashionable insult to hurl and the Cold War feels like ancient history.
Despite the fact that the Communist Manifesto is now collecting dust on many shelves, I found myself captivated by the passion with which the authors wrote and intrigued by the truth in many of their observations and predictions. Communism is clearly flawed as a political system and I do not consider that to be the answer to humanity’s woes. However Marx and Engels do raise some good points. One quote in particular had me thinking about commercial sexual exploitation:
[The bourgeoisie] has pitilessly torn asunder the motley feudal ties that bound man to his “natural superiors” and has left remaining no other nexus between man and man than naked self-interest, than callous “cash payment.” It has drowned the most heavenly ecstasies of religious fervor, of chivalrous enthusiasm, of philistine sentimentalism, in the icy water of egotistical calculation. It has resolved personal worth into exchange value, and in place of the numberless indefeasible chartered freedoms, has set up that single, unconscionable freedom – free trade. In one word, for exploitation, veiled by religious and political illusions, it has substituted naked, shameless, direct, brutal exploitation.
While I do not believe that capitalism is the cause of prostitution and sexual exploitation, I do think that it contributes to it. Here’s why:
- Under capitalism the means of production are privately owned and operated for private profit. Trafficked women and children are privately owned and put to work for the profit of their pimps, brothel owners, and traffickers. This is capitalism at its ugliest.
- Capitalism creates classes of haves and have nots, and the survival of the haves depends on the exploitation of the have nots. This system makes it very difficult for those at the bottom to rise up and leave a life of exploitation.
- Adam Smith’s invisible hand has undermined the ability of developing countries to “compete” in the global market, whereas wealthy nations had time establish themselves before laissez faire economics entered the picture. Sex tourism, which relies on the purchasing power of the dollar in impoverished countries, thrives within this global structure.
- A system that is based on greed will never protect the vulnerable.
- A capitalist mindset reinforces the idea that it is okay to pay for sex (because it is a service like any other), and that it is acceptable to treat the prostitute however you like (because you paid for it).
- Humans are dispensable, and their bodies are commodities that can be used for profit.
Capitalism, therefore, exacerbates sex trafficking and prostitution on two levels. First, it creates a global structure in which wealthy countries, corporations, and individuals get wealthier by exploiting the rest of the world. This creates groups of vulnerable people who are easy for traffickers to target. Second, it breeds entitlement and greed, which ultimately push men into the night to pay for their fantasies.
Be it capitalism or communism, greed is at the root of sex trafficking. What must we do to break the hold that greed has on us as a society?
Michelle Brock
7 People have commented on this post
Thanks Michelle, this is SO true, and exactly why I don’t like capitalism very much. Sadly, we’re a bit stuck with it.
Don’t give up hope yet for communism as a legal system, we have yet to see it develop in the way Marx and Engals described it: birthed out of capitalism by the exploited standing up and taking power. So far, communism has only come from feudal societies.
Great post Michelle!
Hello Michelle,
thank you for a well written blogpost.
Quote: “Be it capitalism or communism, greed is at the root of sex trafficking. What must we do to break the hold that greed has on us as a society?”
Answer:
1) Greed is the by product of a society that believes everything can be bought at any price. This is a result of over appreciation of money which is lead by people without principles and values!! They believe that they can do what they want with the money and it won’t hurt anyone. They’re wrong, the speculation on whether a loan of a house or of a country defaults or not leads to more greed among people that should know better.
2) Without paid sex there would be more crimes against women and girls by perverts that are now going to the red light districts for their needs and therefor making this world a bit safer. This has been proven by scientific research about this.
3) Money has been made with the intend to make trade easier and more equal. Trade is thanks to the over appreciation of money still not equal, easier or fair. Instead the rich found another way to stick it to the poor. God forbid that the poor would be one day equal to the rich. That must be prevented according to the rich.
4) The super rich like the Buffets and Gates in this world can only think to use the money for philantropy which gives you a an idea how money is thought of by them. Instead of using they’re influence to make trade easier, better and more equal they focus on how it reflects on them. How rude! <= My opinion.
5) To make a long story short money NEEDS to be de-appreciated and put less emphasis on. Instead there should be more emphasis on rebuilding the lives that live in poverty by giving them a micro-finance so that those people can help themselves. Futhermore there should be less emphasis on breeding and more on providing food for the whole world and not only the richer world. At the same time there should be more focus on providing drinking water to the poor by the release of patents that prevent using modern technology to teach them so that they can help their world.
6) As long as money is a source people can't live without there will be exploitation of the vulnerable among us. By making money LESS important the vulnerable might have a chance of a future in my opinion.
My opinions on a difficult subject.
Greetings,
nick
Thanks for your thoughts everyone. Nick, I like how you said that greed is the product of a society that believes that everything and anything can be bought at a price. Well put.
However, I found your second point interesting – “without paid sex there would be more crimes against women and girls”…hmm…this suggests that middle and upper class women and girls need to be protected from pedophiles and sexual predators, so let’s keep red light districts around so impoverished, desperate, drug-addicted girls can take the hit instead. I realize you probably take the stance that red light district workers are there by there choice, which some of them are. But it is a significant minority. While you think that without paid sex there would be more crime against women, I think that paid sex IS a crime against women. but because I am always up for reading scholarly works on this topic, could you send me a link to the scientific research you mentioned? That would be great:)
I agree that Buffet and Gates play within the system when they could try to change it. I guess the problem is that no one really knows how!
Thanks again for the discussion everyone.
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