Free Trade and Justice: A Discomfiting Liaison

Abstract

A primary imperative of the global marketplace is that trade be free of restrictions. As a result, there is an inevitable tension between supra-national treaties designed to facilitate trade and national laws designed to promote social justice. The interests of the former are tending to take precedence over the latter. Not only have wealth and power become the preserve of the few at the expense of the many, the principles of human rights and equal opportunity at work are being subverted.

The paper will argue that free trade is eviscerating social justice initiatives for minority workers and women generally. The use of the exemptions provisions of Australian race discrimination legislation is exemplary. The paper will draw on Hardt and Negri’s idea of globalisation as the new imperialism, which includes new forms of racism. The virtually unanswerable question is whether an impassable aporia exists between free trade and justice, or whether peaceful coexistence is possible.

Keywords: Justice, Equality, Free Trade, Race Discrimination