Migrant Workers in the Neoliberal Age

Abstract

This article aims to apply critical thought and analysis to the topic of migrant workers in the broader discussion of human rights. Although migrant workers are ubiquitous around the globe, this article focuses on Philippine workers and their relationship to their government, the United States, and the demands of capitalism. After introducing the subject matter, a discussion of the colonial history that the U.S. has with the Philippines aims to help the audience understand the present intercontinental relationship, and is used as the basis for further arguments, including an assertion of the neocolonial state of the Philippines today. The discussion then moves into the suppression of democracy and the impacts that this repression has on human rights. Moving on from the direct example of the Philippines, this essay discusses the more abstract questions behind human rights, including their origins and the implications that come with their adoption, as well as whether or not they are in fact liberating or rather a guise by which neoliberalism can more effectively extract resources from vulnerable people. The writings of Habermas, a contemporary philosopher and social theorist, Kreide, a professor of political theory, and Rodriguez, professor, author, and activist, are central to this article in its attempt to illuminate the implications of neocolonialism, neoliberalism, and capitalism and the dangers that these pose to human rights