SOCL 1246 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Yadana Gas Field, Social Class In The United States, Methyl Isocyanate
11 Jan 2017
School
Department
Course
Professor
Globalization
What is globalization?
• Globalization is the imposition of neoliberal capitalist development models around the world
• Facilitated by market liberation, deregulation, privatization and fiscal conservation
• 2 phases: 1st phase (the 1970s)- collapse of unionized labor force/deindustrialization of the mid-west
(ex: Detroit and Cleveland population drops)- inflation high (5/6%)
• Phase 2 (now)- many industries that employ white collar workers are relocating to foreign countries
(polarization in the American class structure especially the middle class)
• Leads to a growing pace of economic integration
The Role of the United states
• US acts as the world hegemon- extraction of wealth from the global south for the north
• They have the largest ecological footprint on earth
• The superarket for the orld
• A domestic assault against environmentalism (Neoliberals vs. Left-wing Democrats)
• Is the US hypocritical in their foreign policy?
What differentiates this stage of globalization?
• MNC’s have the capacity to relocate facilities to all corners of the world (communication,
transportation and advanced infrastructure)
• There is an internationalization of the production and waste circuits
• Process- Multinational corporations relocate to regions with cheap labor and resources. Then,
commodities and surplus products are shipped back to the US, and pollution remains behind
• This pollution is known as anti-wealth
Air Pollution
• Only 1% of chinas 560 million city dwellers breath air considered safe by the European Union
• Chinas cost of air pollution estimated at 64 billion in 2014\
• 750,000 people die of air pollution in China each year- mainly from air pollution
Industrial Sewage
• A third of the waterways/ bodies of water are grossly polluted
• Lead in water is 2400 times higher than the safe level (drinking water)
Chinese Imports in America
• Chinese imports have nearly tripled since 2000
• 2007 FDA detained 107 food imports from China
• FDA only examines 1.5% of food imported
• Has caused increased birth defects
• A number of environmental riots have erupted throughout the country
Ecological Hazards and Environmental Injustice
• Case study 1- China- fastest growing country in the world
• Case Study 2- Afria’s Black Gold-
• Nigeria- Chevron has stepped up the extraction of oil in the delta- entire villages were abandoned- lead
to nonviolent disobedience (women taking their tops off)
• Nigerian government publicly executed the leaders of the protests (4 leaders)→ guerilla warfare
• Toxic terror in the ivory coast-dumping of chemicals caused respiratory problems, the entire national
government was brought down
Case 3- Burma
• The Yadana Pipeline in Southern Burma
• Used slave labor to build pipelines (human rights violations)
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Case 4- Bhopal, India
• In 1984, the accidental release of 40 metric tons of methyl isocyanate from a Union Carbide pesticide
plant in the heart of Bhopal, India killed thousands of people and injured hundreds of thousands (most
of the people affected were poorer)
• Enormous cost cutting in the construction of the plant
• 10,000 people died—100,000 people permanently disabled
• Only had to pay $460 per family who had someone killed
Third World Testing Grounds for Dangerous Chemicals
• Consumer products highly restricted in the US are still manufactured and sold around the world (Ex:
pesticides)
• The EPA can deem products too dangerous for domestic use; however, they can still be used for export
Ecological Imperialism-
The peasant subsistent sector- sector where the vast majority of the people live, typically campensinos- grow
food for consumption or sell them at markets
The Capitalist Export Sector- very small, powerful and wealthy class of land owners
Produce cheap export crops for sale on the world market
These elites are aligned with the military/control state
Receive bulk of US financial and technological assistance
The Agro Export model
Profits in the capitalist export sector are dependent on the availability of cheap wage labor provided by the
subsistence sector
Disarticulated Capitalist Control
Export Dependency
Since the 1960s, Central America and much of the Global South has focused on exporting commercial crops.
Sectorally disarticulated development: Economic Inputs
Characterized by the underdevelopment of backward linkages, or domestic industries that produce
commodities (capital goods) necessary for the production of agricultural products and raw materials
(such as farm equipment).
This also includes domestic financial capital and services.
As a result, C.A. and the Global South are extremely vulnerable to deteriorating terms of trade for
imports of capital good and borrowed money
Socially disarticulated capitalist development: Economic Outputs
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Then, commodities and surplus products are shipped back to the us, and pollution remains behind: this pollution is known as anti-wealth. Industrial sewage: a third of the waterways/ bodies of water are grossly polluted, lead in water is 2400 times higher than the safe level (drinking water) Case 3- burma: the yadana pipeline in southern burma, used slave labor to build pipelines (human rights violations) The peasant subsistent sector- sector where the vast majority of the people live, typically campensinos- grow food for consumption or sell them at markets. The capitalist export sector- very small, powerful and wealthy class of land owners. Produce cheap export crops for sale on the world market. These elites are aligned with the military/control state. Receive bulk of us financial and technological assistance. Profits in the capitalist export sector are dependent on the availability of cheap wage labor provided by the subsistence sector.
