A principle central to the ethics of rational anarchism concerns the nature of exploitation. Rational agents are, by definition, agents. An agent is an entity endowed by nature with free will. All entities with free will are ends within themselves. Thus, as an end within itself, an agent has sovereign ownership of itself and possesses the sole right to employ itself as a means. When one agent employs another agent as a means to its own end, without the consent of the employed agent, then the former violates the sovereignty of the later. This violation of sovereignty is a form of theft. Since an agent owns its use as a means, the utilization of an agent as a means, against its will, constitutes theft of the agent qua means.
Reflection upon our own experiences and observations will validate this principle. Consider the moral indignation one feels when one learns that one has been unwittingly employed as a means to end outside oneself by another agent. For example, if someone lies to you in order to obtain your consent or agency, you feel used. Why does this sense of being used bring about distress? Clearly, it is because you have been used as a means without your free consent. Consider, as well, the plight of a slave. We find slavery morally repugnant exactly because it reduces agents to mere means (and in fact, robs them of their right to employ themselves as their own ends). An agent reduced to a mere means has been objectified, that is, it has been denied as an end in itself and transformed into a means towards and end outside of itself.
When one is robbed of their exclusive ownership of oneself qua means, one is exploited. Exploitation is exactly this: the theft of an agent's exclusive right to employ itself as a means to its own end. It is important to note that this definition of exploitation is very strict. For example, one is not exploited simply because someone uses one towards an end outside of oneself. One is exploited if and only if one does not freely consent to be employed as a means. This is not to say that the extent of ethics is defined in terms of the preservation of sovereignty over utilization of oneself as a means to an end within itself. There are other moral principles that we will explore in future essays. Thus, just because one is not exploited when one consents to be used as a means, does not mean that it is ethically valid to permit oneself to be used as a means under all circumstances. Additionally, the consent of another to be used as a means to your end does not necessarily make the use of the other ethical valid. There are other principles to consider. In all circumstances, however, it is unethical for one agent to use another as a means without the consent of the later.
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