Profits and Principles: Global Capitalism and Human Rights in China

Informing political choices with philosophical analysis is a worthy but often elusive vision. Political philosophers like John Rawls typically operate at a far remove from the nitty-gritty of the shop floor, while the framers of codes of conduct for multinational business are typically steeped in the practicalities of law and business but are unsophisticated in philosophical analysis. In Profits and Principles, Michael Santoro dexterously accomplishes the extremely difficult feat of combining the two roles: He is both a political philosopher, making a sophisticated argument about where moral responsibilities for upholding human rights lie, and a practical investigator and advocate, analyzing what multinationals in China can and cannot realistically be expected to do in terms of effectively advancing human rights.Profits and Principles is a strong work not only in its theory and in its practical analysis, but also in the bridge the book constructs between the two. Because Santoro's philosophical approach is a basically pragmatic one that focuses on the limited roles and capacities of different institutional actors in China--national governments and international organizations as well as multinationals--it meshes closely with his hard-headed examination of what multinationals are now doing and the limits on what they are likely to be able to do in the future. Right now there is a lively debate going on over whether China should be granted permanent normal trading relations as part of its proposed entry into the WTO. Profits and Principles is in my judgment absolutely the best work one could read for gaining an informed perspective on that major ongoing issue. The human rights argument of the book as a whole, though it transcends the immediate political issue, makes a very strong case in favor of the pro-PNTR position. In particular, Santoro effectively argues that some multinational enterprises through their flexible, merit-based cultures have generated a positive human rights spinoff in China. The argument gains force from Santoro's willingness to acknowledge and analyze sweatshops and other problematic as well as positive aspects of multinationals in China. I strongly recommend the book to those who are skeptical about China's entry into the WTO as well as to those who are in favor of it; though supporters of integrating China into the global economy will find more to cheer about, skeptics will find a carefully-argued, locally-informed case that digs far more deeply than the more general pro-globalization arguments of writers like Thomas Friedman. If even a substantial fraction of members of Congress, business executives, labor leaders, journalists, and anti-globalization activists were to read Profits and Principles, the quality of public debate on China and human rights would be vastly elevated.Finally, the book is lively and fun to read. A very appealing feature is the skillful use of interviews wi