Today at the grocery store, I bought some oranges. I was expecting them
to be fresh, farm-picked Florida oranges, but on inspection they are
actually fresh, farm-picked South African oranges. This is very strange
to me: I live in one of the orange capitols of the world, and yet my
citrus is coming from thousands and thousands of miles away. I guess
it's the product of an increasingly global world, but it does puzzle
me. I may begin getting my oranges at the local orange farmstand once
it opens in October.
That
got me to thinking about globalization. I know it's something that
takes a lot of heat, but frankly I kind of like the idea of
globalization. I know that a lot of people get really, deeply screwed
by enormous corporations when globalization occurs, but what is often
forgotten is that these same people would pretty much be screwed with
or without globalization. If they weren't working hard labor for
practically no money, they would probably be eking out just as
impoverished an existence by subsistence farming or just kind of trying
not to die. It's a sad thing, but that's just life.
That being
said, I'm not opposed to fair trade practices. If companies were to
decide to raise prices a little and pay their workers overseas a
livable wage, I'd be fine with that. Indeed, Starbucks recently had to
make some concessions to Ethiopian coffee farmers who were demanding
slightly more money per unit of coffee. Eventually, Starbucks caved in
and gave them the extra five cents a pound of whatever it is. The net?
My latte might cost a fraction of a penny more. It's more fair to the
farmers, and it doesn't hurt me at all. The thing about globalization
is that it can totally work in everybody's favor if it's done correctly.
On a related note, I find it amusing when trendy people with many consumer products complain about the unfairness of globalization. Cognitive Dissonance is an amazing thing.
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Its all about money. If it can be done in some other country for less money then it will be done. The corporations don't care about the wages the people are getting. As long as it keeps their pockets lined nicely then whatever happens they can just look the other way
Its all about money. If it can be done in some other country for less money then it will be done. The corporations don't care about the wages the people are getting. As long as it keeps their pockets lined nicely then whatever happens they can just look the other way
While you might rail against the corporations, I bet you own a lot of their products. And if you own their products, you're contributing to the problem. Do you own any shirts made in Myanmar or Thailand or China? Any electronics at all? Unless you're wearing 100% recycled, salvaged clothing and eating nothing but locally grown foods, you're as guilty as the corporations are in globalization. What I'm saying is, put up or shut up: either stop supporting global trade by purchasing goods, or stop complaining about it while you reap the benefits of it.
(if you can't see the fnords they won't eat you)
even if they're part of the problem. at least they're RECOGNIZING the problem. they were very truthful in what they were saying, and it honestly IS the number one reason why our products come from so far away. they weren't really complaining, they were stating the obvious.