If a culture is okay with that maybe it's okay to want to nudge that culture to change.
I think the correct course of action would be to "tax the shit out of that" too. (Just as with all the other stuff mentioned in the comments: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34172394)
But of course it's never the right time to do that, as currently half the EU is trying to suck their dick for a bit more natural gas. :/
Not all cultures are equal.
Ending slavery isn't controversial. Western notions of equity are, in both gross and subtle ways.
If I:
- work harder than you;
- have greater aptitude;
- have richer, more educated parents;
- have better / more culturally-aligned social skills;
- have a wealthier social network;
- have higher test scores / university pedigree;
- have better ethics; and / or
- am more ambitious, greedy, and motivated than you
What should are relative outcomes be? Cultures differ here. Some would like more equal outcomes. Some would like more meritocratic outcomes (for different definitions of 'merit'). Some would like more laissez faire / libertarian / freedom-oriented outcomes (e.g. preservation of property rights).
That's okay. I'm not a cultural relativist on ending slavery. I do respect diversity on concepts like what "equity" means.
I think narrow, targeted interventions could work well around slavery, but would break down the instant those were perceived to touch on LGBTQ, women's rights, religion, equity, or a swarm of other issues around values. On the other hand, omitting at least a few of those, I'm unlikely to make headway in the West. That's not to mention economic / corporate issues, like IP rights.
Of course it isn't. What is not obvious is what replaces it that isn't de facto slavery or even reduces opportunities for people so that they are exploited elsewhere. Nor how the replacement is monitored for effectiveness and compliance.
It is easy to say that slavery is bad and make it illegal. Fixing the actual problems in monarchies/dictatorships and impoverished countries with little opportunity is not easy or simple. The fact that a lot of slaves are not technically slaves but officially and legally "employed" makes the issue pretty plain to see. How do you see the solution to compliance in Middle Eastern monarchies and even in Western democracies where it is already illegal but happens none the less? I assume you are going to go out and implement these right away if it is so easy and obvious.
You are looking for equitable solutions in places that explicitly do not value them. Improving that is hard, if it is not already obvious.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_views_on_slavery
Another good starting point is prestige and how it impacts perceptions of individuals involved.
A lot of the framing in this discussion carry a lot of Western baggage which is likely to rub people the wrong way in the Middle East.
I can think of several solutions which I think could at least be more effective than what the West is doing; I do think there is room for prestige projects here. I'm not sure how helpful that would be, since in terms of "implementing," I don't know any Saudi royalty. Do you?
Are you okay destroying US culture? Or are you an apologist for our racist justice system?
Would, as you put it "cultural imperialism which destroys such cultures as have victims would be strongly preferable to the continued existence of such cultures" in the context of Western culture?
See what I did there? If the point I tried to make above isn't clear:
* The point isn't to say slavery is okay -- it's obviously not -- but a lot of stuff in every culture is not okay.
* A lot of other stuff in every culture is not okay as perceived by other cultures (especially around sex, gender, and religion), but comes down to values.
* And a lot of other stuff is beautiful, unique, and good.
Western cultural imperialist interventions haven't worked out well in the past. I'm glad to write more about that too. Even if you -- as most of these comments seem to -- believe that Western culture is superior, culturally imperialist interventions haven't led to the outcome you want.
What interventions are you proposing, and why would you believe they would work any better here?
But there are actual victims of this cultural diversity, and cultural imperialism which destroys such cultures as have victims would be strongly preferable to the continued existence of such cultures.