Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Teaching About Modern Slavery: Highlighting Human Rights Principles In Evaluating Economic Systems, Barbara E. Hopkins

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

Evaluating economic systems relies on several different criteria, but the current public discourse places a great deal of emphasis on efficiency, which students generally understand as producing at lower cost.

By using the extreme example of modern-day slavery, I am able to introduce students to the human rights framework for thinking about freedom and encourage students to question whether producing at the lowest possible cost is good for human beings and the environment.