Abstract

The article provides a critical overview of the debate on the ‘liberal theory of exploitation’ in moral and political philosophy. It begins with the work of Robert Nozick and Bruce Ackerman as exceptions to the absence of the issue of exploitation in the most relevant liberal theories of justice. It then turns to the current debate on liberal theories of exploitation in order to analyse the main paradigms that shape the different definitions of exploitation. The fourth section focuses on the case of sweatshop labor in the Global South in order to discuss the normative and empirical issues it raises and the grounds for its moral defense advanced in the debate. The final section considers the problems that liberal theory faces in grasping the specific features of labour relations and exploitation