Elena Rodriguez
Global Trade Debate

Global Trade Debate

Why do people love chocolate so much? Is it the smell, the taste, the texture or something more? Do people know what it is the truth hidden in the chocolate business? Do they know that the main ingredient it is child slavery? Thankfully, I can said that I don’t like chocolate, so I don’t feel guilty for consume it. However, should I feel comfortable? Or should I think about what I am consuming that its production leads into harm our people, our animals and our planet? After I watched the “Global Trade Video”, I started to think deeper about the damage that consumerism is doing to innocent people.
Based upon this DVD, I tend to see it from a Marxist perspective because it talks about how the rich people are getting richer at expense of poor people that are getting poorer, “the class struggle”. Personally y agree with the Video, and my position is against globalization, but I can’t be 100% in opposition because there are some points that make it positive; for this reason, I will explain what are the pros and the cons of globalization from my opinion.
One positive side of globalization is that it promotes global economic growth, creates jobs, makes companies more competitive and lowers prices for the consumer; thus, countries can balance their inflation. Also, there is a worldwide market for the consumers that can access to products from different countries without live their houses.
In addition, with the advance of technology the world is more integrated, and there is more influx of communication between countries. For example, with Skype we can communicate across countries with our family and friends; even more, we can make conference calls with people located in different countries. Also, mass communications and quick dissemination of information through the Internet are benefits of globalization.
Another point in favor is that with a free trade economy countries tend to cooperate each other using the principle of reciprocity, and this leads into interdependence; thus the risk of starting a war is reduced to cero. Additionally, in the European Union, people can travel across countries without the requisite of a Visa, and they can find jobs in a host country without needing a license for work.
However, I consider that globalization has more disadvantages than benefits, and its consequences generate a negative impact in humans, animals and our planet as it was discussed in the video.
“In Prague, as elsewhere, the mob targets McDonald’s. A collective wrath is unleashed against a company that symbolizes globalization run riot.” The first point discussed in the video is about the multination corporation McDonald’s. Even though transnational helps to improve the economy of many countries by creating jobs, paying taxes, and selling cheap fast food, it harm more because it provides to the consumers junk food, which is saturated fat and sodium. Undoubtedly, consumption above recommended levels harms the arteries, increases blood pressure, the risk of stroke, heart disease and obesity.
In addition, McDonald’s create jobs, but they explode people providing low wages, and the pressure to keep profits high and wage costs low results in understaffing. Thus staff has to work harder and faster. The majority of employees are people who have few job options, and so are forced to accept this exploitation. In the same way as McDonald’s, there are many multinational corporations, like Wal-Mart, Nike, Adidas, Disney and Gap, which explode their workers. They also affect the domestic industries that can’t compete with their low prices, so they put them out of business.
Further more, McDonald’s and other food transnationals, are harming the environment thanks to the growing meat’s international demand. The high demand of cheap meat is increasing deforestation in the Amazon. According to Greenpeace, McDonald's Corp. was fueling the destruction of the Amazon rainforest by