FROM THE abandoned factories of the American rustbelt to the neglected fields of the developing world's unemployed farmers, globalization's losers are clearly on display. Although increasing levels of trade have created unprecedented economic growth and raised the average living standard in many nations in the developing world, it has also created whole classes of people whose traditional vocations have been eliminated by the winds of change. Last Thursday's "Forum on Fair Trade" presented by Students Promoting Fair Trade and Critical Mass represented an example of how society can ensure that those that have been hurt by globalization can be reintegrated into the system.
The immediate problem that the forum addressed was the poverty that has afflicted farmers in the developing world as their family plots have become uncompetitive against corporate mega-farms. The result of this trend is that farmers in effected regions have been forced to work for extremely low wages at large corporate-owned farms or face the even worse prospect of unemployment.
The fair trade movement has tried to combat this problem by marketing to citizens of the developed world brands of coffee, produce and textiles which pay their farmers and workers at levels at which they can escape poverty. This means that while farmers would usually be paid 28 cents per pound of coffee under market conditions, farmers that work for fair trade cooperatives get a full dollar, according to the non-profit group Transfair USA. According to Liz Heaney, president of Students Promoting Fair Trade, for farmers facing the prospect of unemployment or working forlow wages on a corporate farm, "Fair trade gives them that third option so its not just 0 or 28 (cents)."
In addition to this, the fair trade movement also allows economically dislocated workers to escape dependency on traditional aid programs. According to Jessie Katz, vice president of Students Promoting Fair Trade, "Rather than getting foreign aid and charity, they're pulling themselves out of poverty."
While the fair trade movement does offer an example of the way in which concerned people can help farmers to escape poverty by acts as simple as buying fair trade brand coffee, it also points to the need for much wider action.
First, government must acknowledge that while trade and globalization have created growth that is fuelling the rising living standards in many developing nations, it has also increased economic inequality, eliminating millions of jobs in manufacturing in the industrialized world, as well as millions more agricultural jobs in the developing world.
According to statement made by Jack Schmitt of the Center for Economic and Policy Research at a 2004 economic conference at Marrieta College, since 1979, "The lowest 20 percent of families in the United States witnessed a growth rate of only 0.02 percent in their annual income, while the top five percent witnessed a growth rate of 1.5 percent in their annual income."
Although some people may object that efforts to combat the inequality created by globalization will interfere in the free market and hurt economic growth, in reality such efforts are necessary to stop rising levels of inequality from breeding social conflict. Moreover, such efforts to combat inequality will increase society's human capital by expanding access to education and job training.
With this in mind, political leaders must take action to insure that the economic growth that is produced by globalization helps all the groups that have been left behind by its effects. To this end, political leaders must expand existing retraining programs that help workers whose jobs have been eliminated by structural economic changes. Such efforts will not only help the workers themselves, but also the economy as a whole by increasing the productivity of American workers.
Moreover, government should give all possible protection and assistance to workers who want to create and join unions in the largely un-unionized service sector. By forcing companies such as Wal-Mart to stop anti-union practices such as closing down unionized stores, the government can take an extremely important step toward helping workers who have lost jobs in manufacturing, retain their middle class standard of living in their new service sector jobs.
While the government will play an important role in solving this problem, local activism will nonetheless provide vital resources towards thecrafting of a solution to the economic inequality that is created by the process of globalization. That is why efforts such as the fair trade movement will play a crucial role in complementing government action.
Ultimately, the way in which society deals with the effects of globalization will be a moral test of our generation.By supporting initiatives such as the fair trade movement and by pressuring politicians to assist economically dislocated workers in the industrialized world, we can ensure that the economic growth created by globalization benefits more than just the wealthiest in society. Hopefully, we will be up to the task.
Adam Keith is a Cavalier Daily associate editor.He can be reached at akeith@cavalierdaily.com
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