College Sports and Exploitation

Read: Nicas, “He Has 17,700 Bottles of Hand Sanitizer”  WEB (best) or PDF; and Alan Wertheimer, “Exploitation” (read sections 1 and 2) WEB  RR 

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OUR QUESTION FOR THIS WEEK:  ARE STUDENT ATHLETES EXPLOITED?

First we need to think about exploitation more generally. For that purpose, we're using an entry by Alan Wertheimer in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (a great resource).  

Next time: apply ideas to student athletes.  You need to watch Student Athlete (movie). Follow link in syllabus to library's free access.


Exploitation

Some useful distinctions made by Wertheimer

1. Truth Conditions vs. Moral Force
• Under what conditions is it true that A exploits B?  (i.e. what is the definition?)
• When you say A exploits B, what's the moral upshot? How strong is the condemnation? What should be done about it?
2. One-on-one vs. Class-on-class
• "person A exploited person B" (one-on-one)
• "the wealthy exploit the poor" (class-on-class)

Mostly we'll be discussing truth conditions and one-on-one exploitation today.

Theories vs. Cases

We need a theory to help us thinking about cases.
We need cases to help us generate a theory.

START WITH SOME POSSIBLE CASES

1. Hand Sanitizer Gouging. Colvin brothers collected hand sanitizer and tried to sell on Amazon at high price before they were stopped.

2. Prison Prices. A facebook friend of mine wrote:

3. Free Law Professors.  SMU law school pays Dallas lawyers nothing to teach a course.

4. Jeffrey Epstein.  He paid 14 year old girls for massages and sexual services. Also, Harvey Weinstein, who was recently convicted of raping two women.

NOW FOR SOME THEORIES

16 accounts are listed in "Exploitation", section 2. 

• The three most popular in the RRs: 5, 7, 8
• Other favorites: 1, 3, 4, 13, 15, 16

APPLYING TO HAND SANITIZER CASE

Were the Colvin brothers involved in exploiting people? 18 said YES, 2 said NO.

Yes, using definition 5. Exploiters violate "the moral norm of protecting the vulnerable."  

No, using definition 8. An exploiter uses B a tool or resource, causing B to be seriously harmed.  

Another No, using definition 8.

Yes, using definition 7.   A turns some property of B to A's advantage, but B doesn't have to be vulnerable or harmed.

WERTHEIMER'S VIEWS

He seems to subscribe to definition 7 as a starting point for his own theory, which he develops in his book Exploitation.

When A exploits B,

1. A unfairly takes advantage of B
2. Exploitation can be consensual or non-consensual (as in #7)

• consensual: the customers who buy hand sanitizer at high prices
• non-consensual: Jeffrey Epstein paying 14 year olds for sexual services

3. Exploitation can make B better off or worse off  (as in #7)

• better off--people who have hand sanitizer 
• worse off--Epstein's victims

4. Moral force of saying "that's exploitation!" will vary

On Wertheimer's view of exploitation, are the prisoners exploited?
On Wertheimer's view of exploitation, are the free law professors exploited?

Student Athletes
Use the concepts above to think about the four athletes in the movie.

1. If you draw on definition 5, a key issue is whether student athletes are vulnerable.
2. If you draw on definition 8, a key issue is whether student athletes are harmed.  Are they worse off for being student athletes?
3. If you draw on definition 7, it doesn't matter if they're better off and they consent. They could still be exploited.