When talking about labour exploitation, does it matter if the activity that the labourer is doing is legal or not? Many would say yes. If the job is to commit a crime, simply enforcing the law should put an end to the exploitation as well.
But reality in contemporary globalisation is far more complex than that. And detailed study of the closely entwined economic and political processes at the heart of globalisation show that unfree labour and illegality are part of what makes globalisation tick in the first place. The question then is: how does the interplay between legality and illegality, as well as between freedom and unfreedom, shape and impact the exploitation of labour?
Contemporary capitalism adjusts to socio-political environments through concrete articulations of politics, state, and markets. One window into seeing this at work is when politicians-cum-entrepreneurs play with the boundaries of legality, illicitness, and legitimacy to create a violent and exploitative environment in which they can increase their own profit. And there are few better places to see that in action than in the illegal business of sandalwood smuggling in India.
