'Workers
of the world unite.'Nuff said."
| On October 1 we discussed more theoretical aspects of globalization, with an emphasis on conflicts of interest between citizens and investors. I told students they could write anything they wanted on their cards and got some of the most thoughtful comments ever. | ||
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"Why do we always compare standards of living of other countries to ours? Maybe someone in China making $3 per day is happy. Maybe it is an improvement." | |
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"There is only one way to stop this downsizing
dilemma, and it goes back to our friend Marx: 'Workers
of the world unite.' Nuff said." |
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"Today's class . . . made me angry . . . when I asked myself where the money is going from all of the profits GM and other large companies are making now. It is certainly not going to the American worker. No, instead it is going to greedy, money-hungry CEOs and executives. The rich are getting richer and the middle class and poor are drowning! Is there any hope?" | |
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"How does the government think we will survive if the only jobs worth getting require a college degree? Not everyone can afford to go to college. Does that mean they can't afford to survive?" | |
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"I get really scared when I think about leaving college and being in the 'real world.' Am I going to have to deal with globalization too?" | |
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"Contrary to the beliefs of some of the authors we saw on the slide show, I think that downsizing, and relocating companies, such as GM does, is morally wrong. To be completely capitalistic you must have no morals, and I wouldn't buy goods from companies who operate like that, and I'm sure I'm not alone." | |
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"The scary thing about globalization is that many people don't realize it's going on. The slogan 'Buy American!,' which is the mantra of the American blue-collar worker, is misleading when one considers that many American companies manufacture overseas and that many products manufactured here in the U.S. are done so by foreign-owned companies." | |
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"If there isn't enough money at home because people have decreased wages, we won't be able to buy these imported products--or maybe we should choose not to. Didn't we already go through the trouble of dealing with sweat shops, child labor, no unions, and no minimum wage during the industrial revolution? I think companies are just too big. They need to be huge to survive, but that means exploiting people all along the way. It's really gross. Is it right to boycott products from Singapore? Those workers are so poor, they could use whatever they can get. Can we keep track of how different companies treat their workers? What do we owe developing countries that we have contributed to the poverty of?" |