We as humans have come to a conclusion that labor is our life-activity, Marx says “that is what keeps us alive, and that is what makes us humans”. For him, labor is for someone else, that we really do not receive benefits from our labor, that is to say we sell that labor to someone else that benefits for our labor. As society progresses, labor has simply become a commodity, just like any other commodity. One sells his labor to the highest bidder there is, which is its employer. Labor is useless unless there is external goods for us to work on, our job which is adding values to the external goods. We call that added value our labor, which we exchange that value for money, in order to survive. I think the only valuable thing to us is our body, Locke says “The only thing that really belongs to us is our body and the activities our bodies do”.
Nike, Wal-Mart, Adidas, and many other corporations that are involved in the clothing industry, they all have one thing in common. That’s paying for cheap labor in order to fulfill their hunger for maximum profit. They have hired so much cheap labor overseas, and sweatshops are a product of it. Their one-day wage might not even be able to afford a McDonald meal here. They do not work there so they can buy a car or any other luxury products; they work there so they can afford meals, in other words, the basic needs for life. Someone might argue that they could find other jobs with higher wage, why would they sell their labor, their life activity, for uneven reward? The answer is simple, in order to live.
I totally agree with you about how wages given in other countries by these large corporations is just wrong. It is a new form of slavery that keeps people struggling and keeps them dependent on the small wage they receive more and more. You are right, these wages are not given so these people can move up in life, these wages are given in order to keep these people from dieing, but keeping them dependent on the small wage. Wage-labor is a form of slavery in itself but the way these large corporations over work the struggling people overseas is just ethically wrong. These businesses are almost playing these people like puppets and something needs to change to prevent this from becoming more and more popular.
ReplyDeleteIt is quite sad to know that people in other parts of the country make insanely less, ridiculously less beyond all belief when it comes to wages for the labor they are taking part in. It really can't be justified when considering the profits that are being made by the corporations, but as we've seen before this is primary goal of a corporation, to maximize profit and with the most minimal expense. A person should be able to choose the employer he/she wants to work under, to be able to choose the wage that he/she wants to earn, and not so it just covers the necessaries to living, but a comfortable living environment. What's horrible is there really aren't too many other choices for these people and they are stuck with what they have, earning the lowest wages on this planet. I think Marx would be in detest.
ReplyDeleteI must say that everytime i read about sweatshop labor and conditions in these countries where the corporations establish their companies to exploit these people, I can not help but feel disgust towards the business owners. I think that the concept of "seatshops" in general completely asserts the arguments that Marx makes about wage labor. The problem here is that the wages that these people receive are not even enough to sustain their basic life necessities! So I don't know how they can reproduce when they have a difficult time keeping themselves alive with these meager wages. Also, the surplus value that Marx speaks about is evident when talking about sweatshop labor because these workers are being paid cents, and these corporations, like Nike for example,charge up to $100 for a pair of shoes that they paid cents to produce. So they make a very large profit on each item they sell! Good post AnLu.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all the comments above and with your argument. It is sad to see how many people have no other choice but to accept these low paid jobs...especially for the reason you mentioned Anlu; to survive. Ever since i was a little girl ive been to Mexico to visit. Ive been to good parts of mexico and poor parts of Mexico. I found it sad how people get paid and that is if they have a job. For example a " good job" as they would call it would make the highest $100 pesos (which is about $10 dollars) a day. Some that dont even have jobs are selling trinkets made from them but what can they charge for these? Not that much because all they want to do is get for some food and water.
ReplyDeleteMany of us should be greatful that we can buy expensive brand clothes and other luxuries. And yes 'labor has become a commodity'. One sells our labor in order to live, at what ever cost that is.