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Economic globalization a code for exploitation?

Article · February 2018

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Harun Yahya
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 Economic globalization a code for exploitation?

Marco Polo was pioneering the global economy 700 years ago when he
brought products from China to Italy via the Silk Road. Since then,
with the development of transnational trade, the globalization of the
economy has gained increased momentum. Today, it is not at all
surprising for a company to produce goods in a country other than its
homeland and then to sell its products around the world.

The global economy has become so widespread that it has started to

affect state politics, international relations, international law and social
dynamics. But, did economic globalization, which had such a profound
effect on the world, bring prosperity to the people?

This question is answered differently by the advocates of globalization

and its opponents. Advocates of classically liberal economics argue
that competition and the possibility for high profit in the markets will
naturally lead to the most efficient distribution of resources. According
to them, economic globalization is an opportunity to increase the
worldwide level of prosperity. Since the greatest advantage of
economic globalization is that the game is played out between the
winners and other winners, one of central ideas was that globalization
would make wealthy richer and poor less poor.

The argument of those who support globalization is based on the

following assumption: A transnational company will prefer less
developed countries with lower labor costs for production. In this way,
unemployment, the chronic problem of underdeveloped countries,
would be eliminated and with increasing employment, the concerned
country would develop rapidly. Even though it sounds fairly reasonable
on paper, the reality is not always so optimistic.

Many multinational, globally recognized brands have moved their

production to countries like China, Indonesia and the Ivory Coast
through subcontractors in order to benefit from by using cheap
workforce. However contrary to what was claimed, manufacturers
caused the conditions in these countries to go from bad to worse.

An activist named Jeff Ballinger published a report in 1991 in

Indonesia documenting the low wages and poor working conditions for
employees in one of the world’s most famous athletic shoe brand
factories.. According to the report, the company's subcontractors were
exploiting the employees by giving them a wage lower than the
minimum wage in Indonesia[i] while it enjoyed record-high profits. On
top of that, child workers were also employed in production and
women workers were sometimes beaten by their supervisors with
shoes due to trivial sewing errors and this punishment was a common
occurrence.[ii]
Another example of abuse in economic globalization was observed in
Ivory Coast. Chocolates were being produced for the world's most
famous food brand from local cocoa, collected by children who had
been kidnapped from their families or sold by their parents to child
abusers. Moreover, this company continued to employ children under
the age of 15 for ten more years after declaring its commitment to end
child labor.[iii]

The globalizing economy hasn't created prosperity but only problems

for underdeveloped countries in every period in history when the reins
were in the hands of those with exploitative mindsets. It is possible to
give similar examples: The article by The Guardian in April 2017,
entitled "Threats, Bullying, Lawsuits: the tobacco industry's dirty war
for the African market" about the international tobacco companies in
Africa, describes the threatening and bullying methods employed by
the largest tobacco companies in the world to prevent or impede the
implementation of legislation for the prevention of smoking in eight
African countries.[iv] A similar article in The Independent describes
the activities of large tobacco companies in Africa as follows:

Tobacco firms have taken advantage of lax marketing rules in

developing countries. They aggressively promote cigarettes to
new, young consumers, while using lawyers, lobby groups and
carefully selected statistics to bully governments that attempt to
quash the industry in the West.[v]

Similar problematic practices can be seen with international mining

companies operating in Africa as well. These companies pay very little
tax to the government despite earning enormous incomes.[vi] Most of
their employees are employed from their own countries, and most of
their goods and services are again bought from their own
countries.[vii] Thereby, not only do they not make any contribution to
the economy or the employment of that country, they also pay
ridiculously low prices to take possession of trillions of dollars worth of
the natural wealth that rightfully belongs to the people of that country.
In the end, the true owners of that natural wealth are worse off as
time passes. An obvious system of exploitation continues to oppress
people before the eyes of the whole world.

Indeed, the concept of a globalized economy shouldn’t be blamed

solely for the negativity it brings. Increasing international trade
volume, production, transnational mutual investment and employment
capacities and creating employment possibilities for the unemployed
workforce worldwide are among the opportunities that the global
 economy offers for the benefit and prosperity of all people. However it
seems that honest and trustworthy administrators, as well as
internationally binding – and enforceable - legislation that prohibits the
negative repercussions such as exploitation of wages and worker
abuses are essential requirements in order to bring to fruition such
benefits.

[i] Max Nisen, Bussines Insider, How Nike Solved Its

Sweatshop Problem, 9 Mayıs 2013,
http://www.businessinsider.com/how-nike-solved-its-
sweatshop-problem-2013-5
[ii] İrfan Özfatura, Sıradan Atlet, Sıra Dışı Tüccar Phil Knight,
Türkiye Gazetesi Haziran 2009.
[iii] Joe Sandler Clarke, Child labour on Nestlé farms: chocolate
giant's problems continue, The Guardian 2 Eylül 2015,
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-
professionals-network/2015/sep/02/child-labour-on-nestle-
farms-chocolate-giants-problems-continue
[iv] Sarah Boseley, Threats, bullying, lawsuits: tobacco
industry's dirty war for the African market, Nairobi 12 Nisan
2017, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/12/big-
tobacco-dirty-war-africa-market (Erişim tarihi: 8 Kasım 2017)
[v] Emily Dugan, The Unstoppable March of the Tobacco Giants,
28 Mayıs 2011, http://www.independent.co.uk/life-
style/health-and-families/health-news/the-unstoppable-
march-of-the-tobacco-giants-2290583.html
[vi] Mark Curtis, Britain’s New Africa Empire, Huffingtonpost
26 Temmuz 2016 http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/mark-
curtis/britain-africa-development_b_11191728.html
[vii] Mining Online, Britain’s New African Empire 20 Şubat
2017,
http://www.miningafricaonline.co.za/index.php/mining-
features/mining-in-africa/3057-britain-s-new-african-empire
Adnan Oktar's piece in Cape Argus (South Africa)

The writer has authored more than 300 books translated in 73 languages on politics,
religion and science. He may be followed at @Harun_Yahya and www.harunyahya.com

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