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Jewish Perspectives on Trade Justice

 

From the American Jewish World Service Education Module on, "Addressing Global Poverty: International Aid, Debt Relief, and Trade Justice"

Jewish tradition pays great attention to ethics in business and economic life. Indeed, one story relates that the first question one is asked when one arrives in the world to come is, "Did you deal fairly in business?"

In the context of international trade, Jewish tradition offers several guidelines. First, we must practice fairness and honesty in all business dealings. This principle is enshrined in Leviticus:

Leviticus 25:11-14

Translation Original
When you sell property to your neighbor, or buy any from your neighbor, you shall not wrong one another.  [JPS translation]
  וְכִי תִמְכְּרוּ מִמְכָּר לַעֲמִיתֶךָ אוֹ קָנֹה מִיַּד עֲמִיתֶךָ אַל תּוֹנוּ אִישׁ אֶת אָחִיו: בְּמִסְפַּר שָׁנִים אַחַר הַיּוֹבֵל תִּקְנֶה מֵאֵת

 

We are obliged to deal with each other fairly, to use honest weights and measures, and not to take advantage of one another in business.

Second, as consumers, we bear responsibility for the entire chain of economic activity that brings goods and services to us. Not only are we prohibited from dishonest business practices, we are barred from benefiting from others' unethical business practices. We can infer this principle from Rambam's rule about the purcahse of stolen goods: 

Rambam, Laws of Theft 5:1

Translation Original
One may not buy from a thief the goods he has stolen, and to do so is a great transgression because it strengthens the hands of those who violate the law and causes the thief to continue to steal, for if the thief would find no buyer he would not steal, as it says, “He who shares with a thief is his own enemy.” (Proverbs 2:24) [AJWS translation]
אסור לקנות מן הגנב החפץ שגנב ועון גדול הוא שהרי מחזיק ידי עוברי עבירה וגורם לו לגנוב גניבות אחרות, שאם לא ימצא לוקח אינו גונב, וע"ז נאמר (משלי כ"ט כ"ד) חולק עם גנב שונא נפשו.

 

Even if our immediate transaction takes place honestly, we may not participate in a transaction that supports or perpetuates injustice. While purchasing unfairly traded goods is obviously not equivalent to buying stolen property, consumers clearly have an obligation to investigate the origins of the goods they purchase- we are responsible even for the unintended consequences of our business dealings. Were the people who harvested the coffee you drank this morning paid enough to live? Did the people who sewed your clothing work in safe factories? As Rabbi Yerucham of MIr said: 

Rabbi Yerucham Levovitz, as quoted in Smiling Each Day, Rabbi Avraham Twerski (New York: Mesorah Publications, 1993)

Translation Original
The seismograph has taught us that a tremor in any part of the world can be felt by a sufficiently sensitive instrument everywhere in the world. The same is true of a person’s deeds. One should not think that his actions do not affect others. Everything one does in some way affects everyone else in the world. [Avraham Twerski translation]
 

 

Third, we are required to treat those who work for us particularly respectfully. Jewish tradition recognizes that laborers usually exert less power than employers.

Deuteronomy 24:14-15

Translation Original
You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brothers, or one of the strangers who are in your land inside your gates; At his day you shall give him his wages, nor shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor, and his life depends upon it; lest he cry against you to the Lord and it be a sin for you. [translation by Artscroll, adapted]
לֹא תַעֲשֹׁק שָׂכִיר עָנִי וְאֶבְיוֹן מֵאַחֶיךָ אוֹ מִגֵּרְךָ אֲשֶׁר בְּאַרְצְךָ בִּשְׁעָרֶיךָ: בְּיוֹמוֹ תִתֵּן שְׂכָרוֹ וְלֹא תָבוֹא עָלָיו הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ כִּי עָנִי הוּא וְאֵלָיו הוּא נֹשֵׂא אֶת נַפְשׁוֹ וְלֹא יִקְרָא עָלֶיךָ אֶל ה' וְהָיָה בְךָ חֵטְא:
 
Workers' relative powerlessness is all the more pronounced in the globalized economy. While capital moves freely across borders in search of the cheapest work force, labor migration is limited by strict immigration policies. This encourages a "race to the bottom" for the cheapest workers and makes it ever harder for workers to organize and demand a decent working condition and a reasonable standard of living. The lesson here hinges on the phrase "urgently depends on it." Poor laborers depend on earning a decent wage in order to procure the simple necessities of life. If a coffee farmer works hard to produce a product that we want and need, we have an obligation to insure that the farmer and his or her family are treated respectfully and receive sufficient income to live a sustainable life.

Created By

Naamah Paley
American Jewish World Service