"That the liberals remain silent regarding slavery while decrying 'sweatshops' provides a clue," said Andrew Bernstein. "The liberals demand that the 'exploitation' at 'sweatshops' cease. But workers accept these jobs voluntarily, because they offer better opportunities than elsewhere. In endorsing policies that would effectively close these factories, the liberals violate not only the rights of the employers, but also the rights of the workers to accept employment on the terms offered."

    Similarly, Bernstein noted, at home liberals try to negate the rights of each worker. Liberals uphold such laws as the minimum-wage requirement, which abrogates the right of a low-skilled worker to accept the kind of employment offered to him. The predictable result is higher unemployment among lower-skilled workers.

    Why do liberals pay lip service to supporting alleged victims like low-skilled workers--while invariably endorsing the violation of the rights of those very individuals?

    "The answer is that liberals repudiate the principle of individual rights in favor of collectivism. Only groups exist in their thinking, and only 'group rights' are valid," said Bernstein. "Individuals have no reality and no meaning to liberals. Therefore, liberals blithely violate the rights of individual workers whenever they believe that 'labor as a whole' will somehow benefit. Similarly, they ignore slavery in the Sudan and Mauritania, because they believe that to criticize any groups in Africa is to undermine the cause of ethnic minorities in the West. The interests of enslaved black individuals are thus sacrificed to the liberals' vision of a greater 'collective good.'"

Ayn Rand Institute senior writer Andrew Bernstein is available for interviews.