The Harms of Trade I

This chapter begins our enquiry into the harms of trade. More specifically, it considers various ways in which trade poses serious threats to physical safety. The largest part of the chapter explores the international arms trade. It argues that we must refrain from selling certain kinds of weapons, and that selling weapons to certain kinds of government will rarely be justifiable. It also considers the practice of arming revolutionary groups. The next part of the chapter considers the permissibility of selling drugs to states which are likely to use them to administer the death penalty. It argues that states which oppose the death penalty on the grounds that it violates security rights may sometimes be permitted, and even required, to export drugs commonly used to execute convicts. The final part of the chapter considers the practice of transferring hazardous waste to developing countries.