 Bertrand Russell Quotes 366 |
In the days when slavery was a controversial issue, its opponents argued that it was a wasteful method of production, while its advocates denied this. In fact its wholehearted opponents would not have become favourable to it if it had been shown to be not wasteful, and its whole-hearted advocates would not have turned against it if it had been shown to be wasteful. The argument on each side was addressed to the undecided general public, which wanted cotton goods to be cheap, but cared little about slave labour on Southern plantations or child labour in Lancashire factories.
Source: Bertrand Russell: Human Society in Ethics and Politics, (1954), chapter 8：Ethical Controversy
More info.:https://russell-j.com/cool/47T-0803.htm
* a brief comment: original text in Japanese, translated with DeepL.com (free version)
Following criticism that the clothing sold by UNIQLO is made using forced labour of ethnic Uighurs in China, UNIQLO and other Japanese companies have started to pay attention not only to prices but also to production methods. No, it is not only the responsibility of the companies, but also that of the consumers, as many of them "want low product prices, but pay little attention to the production methods".
It is also instructive to note that the arguments (statements) in many disputes are 'directed at the general public who have not made up their minds', rather than at the disputants.