SOCB47H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: North American Free Trade Agreement, Sweatshop, Walmart
Document Summary
Bad: imbalance of power, exploitation, devalue skills/work. Good: lower cheaper $, higher trade across countries, speed, quantity. Pros: globalization brings prosperity to all involved. Cons: (e. g. organized labor and anti-globalization movement) argue that it has left to the impoverishment of working class people. However, ng tells us that manufacturing still occurs in cities. Large national retail chains (e. g. the bay) & Large transnational retail chains such as wal-mart. Paid less, less benefits can be moved. Retail chains: through technological innovations centralized control over an industry which is becoming increasingly decentralized. Retails and manufactures cut down costs: do not have to have large factories to upkeep, do not have to pay storage or other overhead costs. Employ subcontractors (called jobbers), who may use home-based workers or sweatshop operations to minimize operating costs and maximize profit margins p. 376. Profit is extracted at each level, increasing the exploitation of workers at the bottom. Or, production is relocated completely to other countries.
