(no subject)
Feb. 28th, 2005 12:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
keryxBlasted snow. It's been snowing all morning, and I wish it would stop the fuck up already or make a firm commitment to a real Snow Day. Either way. This middle ground of snow falling and falling and falling without me getting to nestle in my house is no good. Grump.
Also, it's March tomorrow, and I have a lot of very cute little spring things I'd like to be able to wear.
I think, as Americans, that we tend to assume our government is able (nevermind willingness) to take a strong stance against, say, people who make shit in other countries doing it under conditions our unions would never tolerate for 1/100th the pay. But in fact we're not really in an economic position to do such things - we owe China, for instance, an assload of money. We may or may not be in a diplomatic position to negotiate such things, but we definitely don't have all the money in the world.
I'm not sure what we consider to be the evil of sweatshops is 100% bad, as I've said before (labor being one of few ways money is tranferred from wealthier to poorer nations where at least some portion of it reliably hits the people who actually need it); it's a question of how much relativism you're willing to tolerate. I mean, I might think a garbage collector works in appalling conditions, but does the garbage collector? Should the garbage collector agree with me, or should her job be measured by her standard? I am often not a very "good" liberal, as I'm rarely sure there's any one standard, even when a twelve year old feeding a family of five is substituted in for the garbage collector, or when the word "environment" gets used (which environment, I always wonder).
Anyhow, I remember in the early 90s all the debate about giving China MFN or Most Favored Nation (a very Chinese-sounding term, isn't it?) status, with the liberal side of Congress arguing that the Chinese government's heinous abuses of civil rights had to stop before any real trade sitch. And over 10 years later, the civil rights v. trade sitch is quieter, but still hardly resolved. And, you know, Cuba. [As a sidenote, I can't even say "Cuba" in my head anymore without hearing this godawful represent, represent KUBA! lyric from that horrid Dirty Dancing sequel.] Just as the readers of AdBusters don't really shift the focus of the holiday season away from Wal-Mart's profits when they head out for Buy Nothing Day, it seems like any one country alone has less and less power to change the world through copping economic attitude.
Also, it's March tomorrow, and I have a lot of very cute little spring things I'd like to be able to wear.
I think, as Americans, that we tend to assume our government is able (nevermind willingness) to take a strong stance against, say, people who make shit in other countries doing it under conditions our unions would never tolerate for 1/100th the pay. But in fact we're not really in an economic position to do such things - we owe China, for instance, an assload of money. We may or may not be in a diplomatic position to negotiate such things, but we definitely don't have all the money in the world.
I'm not sure what we consider to be the evil of sweatshops is 100% bad, as I've said before (labor being one of few ways money is tranferred from wealthier to poorer nations where at least some portion of it reliably hits the people who actually need it); it's a question of how much relativism you're willing to tolerate. I mean, I might think a garbage collector works in appalling conditions, but does the garbage collector? Should the garbage collector agree with me, or should her job be measured by her standard? I am often not a very "good" liberal, as I'm rarely sure there's any one standard, even when a twelve year old feeding a family of five is substituted in for the garbage collector, or when the word "environment" gets used (which environment, I always wonder).
Anyhow, I remember in the early 90s all the debate about giving China MFN or Most Favored Nation (a very Chinese-sounding term, isn't it?) status, with the liberal side of Congress arguing that the Chinese government's heinous abuses of civil rights had to stop before any real trade sitch. And over 10 years later, the civil rights v. trade sitch is quieter, but still hardly resolved. And, you know, Cuba. [As a sidenote, I can't even say "Cuba" in my head anymore without hearing this godawful represent, represent KUBA! lyric from that horrid Dirty Dancing sequel.] Just as the readers of AdBusters don't really shift the focus of the holiday season away from Wal-Mart's profits when they head out for Buy Nothing Day, it seems like any one country alone has less and less power to change the world through copping economic attitude.
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(no subject)
Date: 2005-02-28 11:21 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-02-28 11:21 am (UTC)