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Is slavery in U.S really that different than in North Korea?
Global Village Space |
Jacob G. Hornberger |
Sometimes the mainstream media can be entertaining without intending to. A good example appeared yesterday in an article about slavery in the New York Times.
The article, entitled “North Koreans in Russia Work “Basically in the Situation of Slaves,” details the lives of North Koreans who travel to Russia to work.
Russians have embraced the North Korean workers.
Why?
The hard working North Koreans
They do nothing but work from morning until late at night.” Home repair companies in Vladivostok “boast to customers how North Koreans are cheaper, more disciplined and more sober than native Russians.”
Because they work so hard. Referring to North Korean painters, Yulia Kravchenko, a 32-year-old homemaker, said, “They are fast, cheap and very reliable, much better than Russian workers. They do nothing but work from morning until late at night.” Home repair companies in Vladivostok “boast to customers how North Koreans are cheaper, more disciplined and more sober than native Russians.”
Read more: Modern day slavery in Pakistan
For their part, the North Korean workers love going to Russia and working there. Some of them even pay bribes to North Korean officials to get a permit to work abroad.
The reason? They love the money they make. One 52-year old painter told the Times that “he liked the work and the opportunity to earn foreign money for himself and his country.”
So, what’s not to like? That’s where the entertaining part of the article comes into play. It turns out that North Korea’s socialist regime confiscates 80 percent of workers’ income, which causes critics to exclaim that the plight of the North Korean workers is akin to slavery.
It turns out that North Korea’s socialist regime confiscates 80 percent of workers’ income, which causes critics to exclaim that the plight of the North Korean workers is akin to slavery.
Why is that entertaining? Because the critics fail to realize that what they’re doing is pointing out what we libertarians have been pointing out for decades about the U.S. system — that any system in which the government wields the power to seize a portion of people’s income is akin to slavery.
An interesting question arises: What would the critics say if the percentage taken from the North Korean workers was, say, 30 percent instead of 80 percent? In fact, as it turns out, that’s the percentage of income seized by the North Korean government from North Koreans who work abroad in the construction industry.
According to the Times article, the critics still call that slavery.
Read more: Was Fukuyama really wrong in his ‘End of History’ predictions?
The reason this is so entertaining is that if you were to ask the Times and those slavery critics whether they feel the same about American workers, they would be shocked — shocked! — at such an outlandish notion. Everyone “knows” that American workers aren’t slaves, they would respond. Everyone “knows” that America is a free country. Everyone “knows” that the United States has a “free enterprise” system.
Read full article:
Is slavery in U.S really that different than in North Korea?
Global Village Space |
Jacob G. Hornberger |
Sometimes the mainstream media can be entertaining without intending to. A good example appeared yesterday in an article about slavery in the New York Times.
The article, entitled “North Koreans in Russia Work “Basically in the Situation of Slaves,” details the lives of North Koreans who travel to Russia to work.
Russians have embraced the North Korean workers.
Why?
The hard working North Koreans
They do nothing but work from morning until late at night.” Home repair companies in Vladivostok “boast to customers how North Koreans are cheaper, more disciplined and more sober than native Russians.”
Because they work so hard. Referring to North Korean painters, Yulia Kravchenko, a 32-year-old homemaker, said, “They are fast, cheap and very reliable, much better than Russian workers. They do nothing but work from morning until late at night.” Home repair companies in Vladivostok “boast to customers how North Koreans are cheaper, more disciplined and more sober than native Russians.”
Read more: Modern day slavery in Pakistan
For their part, the North Korean workers love going to Russia and working there. Some of them even pay bribes to North Korean officials to get a permit to work abroad.
The reason? They love the money they make. One 52-year old painter told the Times that “he liked the work and the opportunity to earn foreign money for himself and his country.”
So, what’s not to like? That’s where the entertaining part of the article comes into play. It turns out that North Korea’s socialist regime confiscates 80 percent of workers’ income, which causes critics to exclaim that the plight of the North Korean workers is akin to slavery.
It turns out that North Korea’s socialist regime confiscates 80 percent of workers’ income, which causes critics to exclaim that the plight of the North Korean workers is akin to slavery.
Why is that entertaining? Because the critics fail to realize that what they’re doing is pointing out what we libertarians have been pointing out for decades about the U.S. system — that any system in which the government wields the power to seize a portion of people’s income is akin to slavery.
An interesting question arises: What would the critics say if the percentage taken from the North Korean workers was, say, 30 percent instead of 80 percent? In fact, as it turns out, that’s the percentage of income seized by the North Korean government from North Koreans who work abroad in the construction industry.
According to the Times article, the critics still call that slavery.
Read more: Was Fukuyama really wrong in his ‘End of History’ predictions?
The reason this is so entertaining is that if you were to ask the Times and those slavery critics whether they feel the same about American workers, they would be shocked — shocked! — at such an outlandish notion. Everyone “knows” that American workers aren’t slaves, they would respond. Everyone “knows” that America is a free country. Everyone “knows” that the United States has a “free enterprise” system.
Read full article:
Is slavery in U.S really that different than in North Korea?
