Individuals and Hegemonies: There Effects on International Trade Through Collective Action

The role of collective action on trade is unquestionable. If even a small group of people begin to boycott a certain brand or product, the effect is felt around the globe because of the intertwined nature of international trade. Although a b

Just like individuals, at times a hegemony does fully understand their role in international trade and freely exercises their power to control other countries or to influence other countries for the better or worse. Sometimes their role as the ultimate collective action is intentional, thought-out, and premeditated. Tariffs are examples of when a hegemony utilizes its power and tampers with international trade. However, also like the examples of individuals participating in collective action unknowingly, a hegemony may not always be aware of how each of their actions has a direct effect on the well being of another nation’s economy. Even if the experts in one nation try to anticipate the effects of a decision or policy on another nation, even the best experts are simply making an educated guess as to what the outcome will actually be.

Another angle to the question of the consequences of group action is that sometimes individuals realize that they are participating in collective action, but feel like there is nothing they can do to change or limit the effects of the collective action. When this mentality sets in, everyone is simply going along with the crowd assuming that someone else is in charge. What these individuals do not realize is by taking this philosophy they are what is giving power to the collective action. There is no leader in collective action. It is the group that forms from the mandates of the individuals that gives collective action life. However, individuals assume that the responsibility of the collective action is not their own because surely someone else is causing these things to happen. In regards to change, a person may see every day on the news stories of the suffering of citizens that live and work in another country that supplies products for a dominate nation, and never consider that their actions (of purchasing these goods) are creating this situation. They assume that someone else is to blame and someone else has caused these conditions to exist. This denial of personal responsibility in the eyes of an individual participating in collective action can cause harm in international trade, but it can also allow international corporations to commit human rights violations because if the individual does not understand, recognize or take responsibility for the results of the collective action, they will never see the need for change, or fairness of trade. One exception to this is the recent change in the international coffee market. Some corporations have begun offering “Fair Trade” coffee that supposedly is grown and produced in an economic and human rights climate that is fair to the local citizens where the coffee is produced. These corporations argue that if consumers are educated on what the effects of their collective actions are on international trade, that they will make the ethical decision, and in this case, purchase the coffee that was produced through “Fair Trade” practices. Although the success of these enterprises is yet to be determined, it stands to reason that in this case consumers are at least asked to change their collective action and become part of a group that is trying to make international trade more ethical.

oycott of sorts in an example of where the individuals would understand that they are affecting trade, there are even situations where individuals are taking collective action without even realizing it. Say that a new cell phone carrier dramatically improves their coverage all over a country. Suddenly that carrier is growing and the competitors are suffering. With the globalization of any economy, this simple market shift will be felt around the world. Collective action then, makes an individual’s actions become amplified and extended, whether they realize it or not. To further illustrate this point, if one person at a company starts a strike, the company is very unlikely to notice or

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