Violent Borders, Chapter 6

First peer post

A compelling argument that the author made throughout this chapter is how owners and managers will sacrifice safety for profit. On page 135, a workers union's report was directly cited stating that they cut corners to maximize profits. These can affect the safety of the employees and create hazardous work environments. This is what happened in Rana Plaza. massive structure damage was reported, but the owners forced everyone to come back to work. As a back-up generator-powered up, the building collapsed and killed over a thousand innocent lives. All preventable if the correct actions were taken.

Share important or compelling evidence (one for each type):

Personal Experience- Unions reports that "Factory owners want to maximize profits, so they will cut corners on safety issues, on ventilation, and on sanitation" (Quoted in Jones, 135).

Outside Authorities- A great example of this type of evidence is when Jones cities Gabriel Popescu. He is a political geographer and Jones cited how TNC employs millions around the world.

Statistics- Jones cited that 90% of cars in the United States were made in the United States in 1965. He then states that 56% of cars in 2009 were made outside the US.

Factual References and Examples- Evidence in this chapter that can be reviewed and proved to be true was cited on page 129. Jones mentions the WTO and the functions that they conducted to promote free trade in the late 1940s.

Jones makes the argument that for some time, borders helped countries. It allowed the US to grow its industrial production and produce need items, especially in times of war. Jones also argues that these borders create a way for the international community to create pools of cheap labor, and import it into a country. Bangladesh, for example, holds factories that make items for Walmart and other large retail stores. The reason why Walmart can offer such low pricing is that these items were made by people in horrible working conditions, who are paid nothing for their work.

In the book, Blood and Diamonds The author goes into great detail to describe this exact issue. People in countries around the world are exploited in their workplace. In India and Bangladesh, the Shrimping industry is a great example of this. This industry-first starts off by tricking innocent poor farmers into giving up their land for a few dollars. They then destroy the land by flooding it and building large enclosures to house the shrimp. They place baby shrimp into this man-made pond and eventually, they are harvested. The workers in this industry are either slaves or paid next to nothing for their hard labor. Another fact about this is that a huge percentage of all the shrimp eaten by Americans is from a production plant just like this. Lastly, I would not recommend eating the larger shrimp (found at restaurants usually) because most of the time, they are injected with steriods or dirty water to increase their size and weight before being sold to packaging facilities. Yummm

Second peer post

For Chapter 6, continue to identify the author’s main points, important or compelling evidence, and integration of different perspectives. Given the international scope of this issue and Jones' limited focus on Bangladesh (in terms of examples provided), conduct some follow-up research for this post that explores working conditions in countries other than Bangladesh and in industries that rely on resources and cheap labor from these countries. Share some of your work, both from Chapter 6 and your research, identifying one of each of the following:

Share one of the more compelling or significant points the author made in this chapter

One of the more significant points the author made in this chapter was how the current system is broken, and is continuing to become increasingly hostile against the people at large.

Share important or compelling evidence (one for each type):

Personal Experience

"The collapse of the Rana Plaza building in Savar, Bangladesh, on April 24, 2013, killed 1,127 people and injured more than 2,500 more." (119)

Outside Authorities

Human rights watch '“The poor and abusive working conditions in Bangladesh’s garment factories are not simply the work of a few rogue factory owners willing to break the law. They are the product of continuing government failures to enforce labor rights, hold violators accountable, and ensure that affected workers have access to appropriate remedies.”' (137)

Statistics

"Between 1973 and 2013, real wages... increased by only 14 percent, from $48,741 to $55,740.... From 1945 to 1973 they increased almost 300 percent" (129)

Factual References and Examples

...Major apparel companies such as Children’s Place, H&M, and Gap for their continued use of questionable production practices in factories around the world..." (136)

Share the different perspectives the author draws on to illustrate the issue discussed

the perspectives the author uses to talk about the issue at hand include two different economic perspectives, statistical perspectives, talking about the worse numbers under the current system, and the human cost, both in terms of lives and general wellbeing.

Share some follow-up research that adds onto the global scope of the issue discussed in this chapter. (Jones largely talks about the textile industry as he focuses on the Rana Plaza incident as his central example. What other industries exploit borders for cheap labor and are complicit in worker exploitation and human rights abuses?)

doing some follow up research, it seems that companies have moved from Bangladesh to Cambodia, and have actually worsened conditions because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. They have a equivalent $30 monthly salary, which is worse than bangladesh's when Jones wrote the book. Furthermore, the conditions are being called "slavery-like," as they are heavily disincentivized from leaving work. The conditions are eerily similar to those of Bangladesh a couple years back, and shows how little has changed.