Exploitation

Abstract

The concept of exploitation refers to a very actual, though highly complex, phenomenon in human affairs, generally, and in international biomedical research in particular. There is no consensus as to whether the phenomenon has only a “thick” (i.e., negative) moral connotation, although such a pejorative meaning is mostly associated with it. Exploitation refers to actions that often seem to involve inflicting harm on people, treating people with disrespect or injustice, and interacting with vulnerable people with whom one stands in an unequal relation of power. As such, it usually involves the degradation of human beings who stand in unequal and vulnerable relations to people or institutions that are more privileged. Exploitation can and does often occur in the actual practice of international biomedical research. It thus represents one of the most actual moral risks to be faced and dealt with in efforts to humanize the world via effective medical care. The threat of exploitation invites individuals to develop an enlarged sense of responsibility for their fellow human beings in the developing world. It must be argued that enlarging this sense of responsibility not only requires a heightened sense of altruism. It indeed also implies a more enlightened sense of self-interest.