II Readings on the Laborer
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The laborer is as essential in the
culture of capitalism as the consumer and the capitalist. It is the laborer who
produces things for the consumer to buy and for the capitalist to profit from. The
existence of a large class of people who must survive from the sale of their labor is
historically unique. Until a few hundred years ago people produced their own food or
owned tools from which they manufactured things to use or sell in local markets.
Today, however, billions must sell their labor or starve. The readings in this section all address the issue of labor and the place of the laborer in the culture of capitalism. They address the following questions: first, historically, when did the laborer emerge as a distinct category of person; second, what is the role of the laborer in today's global economy; finally, what are the positions of women and children in the global labor force. |
A. The History of the Laborer Knowledge of the role of labor is essential to understanding the economics of the culture of capitalism. In Global Problems and the Culture of Capitalism we portray the workings of capitalism as a black box into which investors or capitalists (and we all are, in one way or another, capitalists) put money, and from which they expect to receive more money. The black box can be anything from a bank account or an insurance policy to a stock portfolio or a multinational corporation. For the investor, the way that the amount of money is increased in the black box matters little. All he or she knows is that one sum of money returns a greater sum. However, it is the workings of the black box that we must understand, and the organization and exploitation of labor is often what determines how much greater that sum is. The question is what is the human cost of turning money into more money?
Reading 1. The Manifesto of the Communist Party
http://www.workers.org/cm/cm.htmlReading original texts, as opposed to second or third hand descriptions of them, is invaluable, and Karl Marx and Friederick Engels' Manifesto of 1848 is one of the most influential texts ever written. It can be said to mark a critical stage in the awareness of workers that they represented a special and unique class, and that the economy of which they were a part depended on their exploitation. Ironically few people, in spite of its historical importance, have actually read it. You can skip the various prefaces (although they are generally brief), but read the Opening (as familiar in some countries as the Gettysburg Address is to us), and the section on Bourgeoisie and Proletarians. Feel free, of course, to continue and read the whole thing.
Exercise 1. An Eclectic List of Events in U.S. Labor History
http://www.lutins.org/labor.htmlA quick view of U.S. labor history from 1806 when the union of Philadelphia Journeymen Cordwainers was convicted of and bankrupted by charges of criminal conspiracy to the 1989 coal strike against the Pittston Coal Company. Exercise 2. Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Sweatshops in America
http://americanhistory.si.edu/sweatshops/index.htmMarx and Engels' view of the laborer was formed, in part, by the working conditions they witnessed in the textile mills of Manchester, England in the first half of the nineteenth century. But "sweatshops" seem always to be a feature of industrialization. The Smithsonian Institution features a Web tour of the history of sweatshops in America, beginning in the 1820s, and taking it right to the present. Take the tour, and later you will get an opportunity to determine how you contribute to the development of sweatshops.
B. The Role of Labor in the Global Economy In Global Problems and the Culture of Capitalism we discuss the expansion of multinational corporations to countries all over the world. Generally the expansion marked the continuing effort of businesses to seek out the cheapest source of labor. There is nothing intrinsically wrong in this; after all, the role of the capitalist is to make money (as those of us with bank accounts, insurance policies, and pension funds fully appreciate), and one of the best ways to do that is to reduce the cost of production and service. This tends to be more important for some industries than for others; industries (such as textiles, shoes, electronics, and toys) that are highly competitive, in which styles change rapidly, and in which profit margins are small, depend for their profits on cheap sources of labor. The question, of course, is how does this search for cheaper sources of labor impact on people?
Reading 2: Participation in the World of Work
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/employment/gems/eeo/download/kilm01.pdfFinding cheap sources of labor requires a surplus work force; that is, the greater the number of people looking for work, the lower wages they are likely to accept. And, as this report by the International Labor Organization notes, there are lots of people looking for work. That is one of the problems with the economics of the culture of capitalism; there are what economists call "business cycles," the ups and downs of manufacture and trade. Economists are generally correct when they say that these cycles eventually balance out. However, as the present global financial crisis indicates, what for economists are ups and downs, for people translate into prosperity and crisis.
Reading 3. "Just Buy It"
http://www.islandnet.com/pwacvic/coxsk05.htmlSarah Cox begins this article on the economics of sneakers by contrasting Bev Smith, a well-known Canadian basketball Olympian,and Sukaesih, an undistinguished Indonesian factory worker. One wears the sneakers, the other made them. The article explains why shoe manufacturers, such as Nike, seek to exploit cheap labor, and discusses the consequences of their actions. Nike, of course, is not unique (and is probably not as bad as many other companies), but it has been the focus of labor protest because of its prominence.
Reading 4. Our Fruit, Their Labor and Global Reality
http://www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/bananas/20020610_142.htmlYou need not only consider who makes your shoes; consider also who collects your food. This article by Dana Frank outlines the ways in which fruit producers, such as Chiquita, Del Monte and Dole, try to keep their labor costs as low as possible by playing counties off against each other. It is a good example of what anti-globalization activists mean by "a race to the bottom."
Reading 5. The Prison Industrial Complex and the World Economy
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/EVA110A.htmlThis article by Eve Goldberg and Linda Evans is a general attack on the growth of the prison industry, particularly in the United States. There are more people per capita in U.S. prisons than in any other country of the world. They argue that prisons have become big business, and that there is a vested interest in ensuring that there are enough prisoners to fill them. Furthermore, they argue, prisons have become major sources of cheap labor for industry.
Exercise 3. How Much Do You Contribute to the Growth of Sweatshops?
http://americanhistory.si.edu/sweatshops/ffchain/game.htmOne of aims of the book Global Problems and the Culture of Capitalism is to help readers understand how entangled we all are in the global economy, and how our actions contribute to many of the problems that seem so distant from us. To illustrate, play this global game from the Smithsonian Institution's Web exhibit on sweatshops.
C. The Roles of Women and Children in the Global Economy An important characteristic of labor is the fact that it is segmented. That is, it is divided into relatively highly skilled and well paying jobs, and supposedly less skilled, low paying jobs. The implication of this of often missed by people who speak about "eliminating poverty"; if this division always exists (and it will as long as there are industries that depend on cheap labor for their survival), then there must always be an underpaid and overexploited group. The identity of this class of workers may change, as it did in the United States. But regardless of the identity of these workers, as long as there is a need for cheap and overworked labor, and as long as there are more people than jobs, the unemployed and underemployed will always be with us. Furthermore, social discrimination, whether it is an outgrowth of the culture of capitalism or not, will make certain groups--largely women, children, and disenfranchised minorities--more susceptible than others to economic exploitation.
Reading 6: Life on the Line
http://www.newint.org/issue302/sweat.htmlNone of us are removed from the exploitation of labor. This article by Miriam Ching Louie from The New Internationalist describes the plight of migrants and women in the United States and Mexico who produce many of the jeans sold all over the world.
Reading 7. Child Labor is Growing in Africa: http://www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/inf/pr/1998/4.htm As economic conditions decline, women, children, and disenfranchised minorities must work for lower and lower wages. Furthermore, the breakdown of social units, such as families, requires more people to seek employment. Thus, in Africa, as this report from the International Labor Organization reveals, 41 per cent of all children between the ages of five and 14 are involved in economic activity.
Reading 8. Sex Industry Assuming Massive Proportions in Southeast Asia
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/inf/pr/1998/31.htmLaborers must subsist on the sale of their labor--there is little else they have to sell in the market. For women, the sex industry is often their only opportunity for wages. As this report from the ILO indicates, the sex industry is one of the few growth areas in Asia.
Reading 9. Equal Pay
http://www.aflcio.org/issues/jobseconomy/women/equalpay/index.cfmNot only must some segments of the population accept less desirable jobs, they often must accept lower wages than more favored segments of the population for the same work. Thus, as this article from the AFL/CIO indicates, women earn for equivalent jobs, on the average, .74 for every $1.00 earned by men.
Reading 10 Slavery: Going Cheap
http://www.newint.org/issue337/cheap.htmMost people believe that slavery is a thing of the past. However, as this article by Kevin Bales reveals, slavery thrives in many parts of the world. You can also get some basic facts about the world slave trade.
