All across the globe, nations participate and compete with each other in the pursuit of profit in hopes to accumulate capital. In this age, nations are intertwined economically as multi-national corporations employ developing economies to manufacture goods that are enjoyed all over the world. Global commerce, it can be argued, opens new markets, encourages partnership and trade among countries, and gives developing nations the opportunities to industrialize, increase their efficien

Most of the discussion below of the economic and social conditions in developing economies will be based research on a book called “No Logo” by Naomi Klein (2000), reports from the National Labor Committee “Made in China: The Role of U.S. companies in denying Human and Worker’s Rights” (May 2000), “Made In China: Behind the Label” (1998), “Lives Held Cheap in Bangladesh Sweatshops” by Barry Bearak (2001), and “One World Ready or Not” by William Greider. The Philippines is a country housing hundreds of sweatshops. Industrialization has displaced the population from rural areas, to cities. The population of the city of Rosario has swelled to 60, 000 and it is because of the export-processing zone (EPZ) called Cavite with approximately 207 factories. Cavite is gated from the rest of Rosario. (Klein p. 202) At the gates workers must show their ID cards to armed guards who patrol the perimeters. Inside, the factories manufacture everything from Nike, brand shoes, Gap pajamas, Old Navy jeans and IBM computer screens; and since the factories are all contracted the garments are produced side by side. (Klein p. 203-204)

The problem here is obvious. Corporations who employ sweatshops in EPZ’s pay no income tax, property tax, nor are the goods exported taxed. This means that government revenue is constrained. The mayor of Rosario cannot provide its city with the basic infrastructure it so desperately needs, like roads, medical services, education and public transportation let alone being able to protect worker or human rights. (Klein p.210) It is hard to see how the trickle down effect is working in the case of Rosario when the multi-nationals have the liberty to profit from social injustices and governments are powerless to help their citizens. To quote Jose Ricafrente “It should be a symbolic relationship, they derive income from us, so the government should also derive income from them” (Klein p.210). China, however, is quite a different story. China is a country with extensive and specific labour laws. Laws that define the amounts of hour’s labourers can work legally, and laws that do not permit forced overtime and describe the minimum premiums for overtime wage. China’s labour law also forbids discrimination against women, meaning that factories must give men an equal chance of getting a job in a factory. The law also says that the workplace must be a safe and healthy environment and limits the hours of female workers under the age of 17 to 8 hours. (Made in China: The Role of the U.S. Companies) It is obvious that the governments do nothing to implement or enforce these laws. In fact the Chinese government perpetuates the grueling conditions of sweatshop by essentially crushing any emerging labour movements. For the past 10 years, over 35 labour activists have been arrested and convicted most commonly for “counter-revolutionary crimes” (The Role of U.S. Companies) as if violations of human and workers rights were somehow synonymous to revolutionary. Guo Yunguo is probably the best example of what happens to labour activists in China. He was sentenced to death in 1989 on charges of “hooliganism” for leading a 1000 man protest in front of the municipal government’s offices. (Made in China: The Role of U.S. Companies) Guo Xinmin was sentenced to 2 years in jail in 1999 on charges for “subverting the political power of the state”, he setup a newsletter called the “Workers Monitor”. (Made in China: The Role of U.S. Companies) Zhao Changqing was sentenced for three years in prison for trying to stand for election as a representative for factory workers all over China. (Made in China: The Role of U.S. Companies) The list goes on of activists being arrested to defend their rights. The average sentence of an activist is 7-15 years; most of the convicted are leaders of workers unions, people demanding overtime pay from their employers or those who organize protests,

Some topics in this essay:
Wealth Nations”, Rosario Klein, Role Companies, Philippines China, Trade Industry, Americans Europeans, Polo T-shirts, Jose Ricafrente, Nuremberg Trials, Yuen Factory, role companies, china role companies, human rights, china role, developing economies, developing nations, social conditions, worker human, overtime pay, workers rights, social justice, worker human rights, disregard human life, social conditions developing, raise standard living,