Farmworkers and Public Policy
Author: Rothenberg, Daniel
Date Published: 2000
Transcript of a speech with a brief discussion on ethics in politics. There is a lot of talk these days about ethics in politics. If often appears that the central concern of politicians is not with legislation or policy issues, but rather values, integrity, morals, and character. There are at least two distinct ways to respond to these claims. On the one hand, the call to ethics can be understood as little more than empty rhetoric, a way of drawing in the public with a positive message that reveals almost nothing about any serious position on a political issue. After all, who is against morality, integrity, or strong values? On the other hand, the call to ethics might actually be something more serious, a heartfelt desire for a different mode of political discourse. For the purpose of this discussion, let us take politicians at their word when they claim an interest in creating a closer link between legislation and core values of decency, equity, and the public good. The situation of our nation's farmworkers is, in many ways, best described as a moral issue, an ethical challenge to the larger social order that raises questions about our professed belief that honest, necessary labor should be rewarded with the ability to reasonably provide for one's self and one's family. Not only are the continued struggles of our nation's farmworkers a moral issue, there may be no better way to approach policy issues surrounding farm labor than through an appeal to basic questions of ethics. The speech goes on to review the contemporary situation of farmworkers and the general trend of policy responses to farm laborers' continued poverty.
Date Published: 2000
Transcript of a speech with a brief discussion on ethics in politics. There is a lot of talk these days about ethics in politics. If often appears that the central concern of politicians is not with legislation or policy issues, but rather values, integrity, morals, and character. There are at least two distinct ways to respond to these claims. On the one hand, the call to ethics can be understood as little more than empty rhetoric, a way of drawing in the public with a positive message that reveals almost nothing about any serious position on a political issue. After all, who is against morality, integrity, or strong values? On the other hand, the call to ethics might actually be something more serious, a heartfelt desire for a different mode of political discourse. For the purpose of this discussion, let us take politicians at their word when they claim an interest in creating a closer link between legislation and core values of decency, equity, and the public good. The situation of our nation's farmworkers is, in many ways, best described as a moral issue, an ethical challenge to the larger social order that raises questions about our professed belief that honest, necessary labor should be rewarded with the ability to reasonably provide for one's self and one's family. Not only are the continued struggles of our nation's farmworkers a moral issue, there may be no better way to approach policy issues surrounding farm labor than through an appeal to basic questions of ethics. The speech goes on to review the contemporary situation of farmworkers and the general trend of policy responses to farm laborers' continued poverty.
