EVERYTHING IS CONNECTED

The world globalization usually refers to the breaking down of trade barriers between nations. For supporters of globalization the deregulation of trade and the elimination of national protectionism are posiive things: without trade barriers, goods can pass freely from one part of the world to another. In this way people in developing countries get access to world markets. At the same time the competition between companies allows the consumers in developed countries to buy goods at lower prices. The market forces of supply and demand regulate prices

To globalization critics, free trade comes at the expense of workers in developing countries. They worklong hours, often in unsafe or unbearable conditions in so called sweatshops, where they barely earn a subsistence wage and do not enjoy job security. These factories often use child labors. Trade unions try to organize workers and improve working conditions but these attempts are often met with violence.

At the same time, skilled and unskilled workers in the developed world feel that they too are victims of globalization. Their employers compare production costs of plants at home and abroad and conclude that domestic production is too costly. Jobs are then outsourced to a developing country with a huge labour force. These employees are willing to work for considerably lower wages.

Consumers can occasionally affect the way workers are treated in developing countries. Under threat of boycotts by concerned consumers, some mutinational companies, especially in the garment industry, have committed themselves to “ethical manufacturing”. A brand’s image is important to the company, so it will do its best to avoid bad press. Therefore, some cmpanies encourage the countries from which they import their goods to protect the rights of their workers. Many globalization opponents avoid big brands