This is my opinion from a discussion board this week. In order to completely understand it you would need to view these videos (easily available online): China Blue (first, and it's by PBS, google the video, about an hour), Globalization is Good (second, also google, by Johan Norberg, about an hour), and Nicholas Kristof's article "Where Sweatshops are a dream." There's an accompanying 4 minute video with that one.
It'll take a while, but it's so worth it. Isn't it wonderful to LEARN? Yes, and we should all do it more often. Try it out, it'll stretch your brain.
Contrast China Blue’s view on sweatshops with Norberg’s view. After reviewing the two sides, what is your opinion? Why? What arguments would you offer against or in support of Kristof's (Where Sweatshops are a Dream) opinion on sweatshops?
The producer of China Blue viewed sweatshops to be horrid and inhumane places. They made it seem that sweatshops should be banned throughout the world for the human suffering they inflict upon people.
Norberg glorified sweatshops as an asset to a developing country, a sign of progress, and economic stimulation. He showed that sweatshops provide opportunities for further growth and wealth.
I side with Norberg, with a disclaimer- that I do not support tyranny and abusive practices, even in a sweatshop. That said, I believe they can be what Norberg said, an opportunity and a stepping stone. Some of them are not well run, and are horrible places to be. Hopefully, people can be educated well enough to know that helping your employees helps your company. I would support sweatshop reform in the form of classes, workshops, or seminars that show managers and owners just how and why treating their employees better will increase production more than threatening and docking pay.
I loved Kristof’s piece because he put into words (and video) all the heartache I felt when I walked the streets of Manila and had to shake my head at children no older than my own when I ran out of money or food to give them. They weaved in and out of jeepneys, cars, and trikes like stray cats, handing out envelopes in the jeepneys that said something to the effect of “Please help. I need money for food for my little brothers.” Are they faking it (they really have a nice house somewhere , right) and working the streets as con artists? Not likely. I have never seen so many people without an arm (or both), leg, or with some other debilitating injury in my life. I have never seen so many children sleeping on sidewalks. Sweatshops are not meant to take children out of school and put them to hard labor. They are meant to take children and people off the streets and give them useful and productive labor that will empower them and enable them to make their lives better than they are now.
