‘Freedom Through Marketing’ Is Not Doublespeak

Haseeb Shabbir (), Michael R. Hyman (), Dianne Dean () and Stephan Dahl ()
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Haseeb Shabbir: University of Hull
Michael R. Hyman: New Mexico State University
Dianne Dean: Sheffield Hallam University
Stephan Dahl: James Cook University

Journal of Business Ethics, 2020, vol. 164, issue 2, No 1, 227-241

Abstract: Abstract The articles comprising this thematic symposium suggest options for exploring the nexus between freedom and unfreedom, as exemplified by the British abolitionists’ anti-slavery campaign and the paradox of freedom. Each article has implications for how these abolitionists achieved their goals, social activists’ efforts to secure reparations for slave ancestors, and modern slavery (e.g., human trafficking). We present the abolitionists’ undertaking as a marketing campaign, highlighting the role of instilling moral agency and indignation through re-humanizing the dehumanized. Despite this campaign’s eventual success, its post-emancipation phase illustrates a paradox of freedom. After introducing mystification as an explanation for the obscuring rhetoric used to conceal post-emancipation violations of freedom during the West’s colonial phase, we briefly discuss the appropriateness of reparations. Finally, we discuss the contributions made by the articles in this thematic symposium.

Keywords: Paradox of freedom; Anti-slavery campaigns; Abolition; Transatlantic slave trade; Reparations; Mystification; Ethical blindness; Human trafficking (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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DOI: 10.1007/s10551-019-04281-x

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