gaze economies; Krugman's "in praise of cheap labor"

[gusl]

via perspectivism:
Gaze Economies

via crasch:
Paul Krugman - In Praise of Cheap Labor

...
Why does the image of an Indonesian sewing sneakers for 60 cents an hour evoke so much more feeling than the image of another Indonesian earning the equivalent of 30 cents an hour trying to feed his family on a tiny plot of land--or of a Filipino scavenging on a garbage heap?
The main answer, I think, is a sort of fastidiousness. Unlike the starving subsistence farmer, the women and children in the sneaker factory are working at slave wages for our benefit--and this makes us feel unclean. And so there are self-righteous demands for international labor standards: We should not, the opponents of globalization insist, be willing to buy those sneakers and shirts unless the people who make them receive decent wages and work under decent conditions.
This sounds only fair--but is it?
...

Comments

[spoonless.livejournal.com]

I agree with Krugman. You have to look at it from within a cultural context... from the perspective of the poor families there, we're giving them the opportunity of a lifetime... they're getting paid incredibly high wages and living it up. Just because it seems like a low wage from within our culture doesn't mean it is in theirs. It's mutually beneficial to all parties involved. And I can't stand the usage of the word "slave" in association with such work. If someone is there voluntarily of their own free will then they are by definition not a slave. The fact that they choose to come in to work at all is proof that their life is better off with the job. If it weren't, they'd stay home and do whatever it is they would do if we weren't there offering them work.

[literalgirl.livejournal.com]

the image of another Indonesian earning the equivalent of 30 cents an hour trying to feed his family on a tiny plot of land--or of a Filipino scavenging on a garbage heap?


I see the point, but I find them both unpleasant images.But I think it is more complex than this anyway. The point is that the sneakers, being made here, would be worthy of better wages than that. So it is wrong *because* the only reason the factory is there is for the express purpose of exploiting the worker. It is not some organic, localized environment - it is deliberate abuse of an economically less-developed locale or person. For me anyway - it does make me feel bad because I know some asshole here is making 6-digit bonuses on the back of this labourer, and it stinks. I'd glady pay a dollar more for the worker to get paid that money - but the creepy corporate guy would take it anyway. Yuck.