Replying to LO27804 --
Don Dwiggins,
My trepidation is not based on concern about specific individuals so much
as prior experience on similar lists. This list is one of the most
respectful I have experienced.
With your encouragement I will put some thoughts out for others to think
about and comment on. My thoughts are based on nearly 30 years of living,
working, and observing in third world countries.
My views are 180 degrees apart from what they were 30 years ago. If I
become energetic on the subject it may because I speak much as a reformed
smoker, one who a long time ago had a very different view but was wrenched
to another perspective by the contradictions between my beliefs and my
observations.
I have seen enough slavery, "exploitation" (much over-used word), and
other capitalist mis-use of peoples' energies that I am not a proponent of
unfettered capitalism. On the other hand I have seen a lot of good come
from capitalist job creation in poor countries. That is the yin and yang
that I can describe with some authority.
It is worth starting with my earliest experiences as a Peace Corps
volunteer in West Africa. Among the many things I observed there, was one
or two things that are relevant to this conversation. For example, where
I lived the "unspoiled" farm family lived in a one-room hut. The whole
family worked in the field, kids starting as soon as they could, typically
around 6 years old. Work day was 6 AM to 6 PM with some time to eat while
resting. Work week 7 days. The growing season was essentially all year,
so there were rare days during the rainy season when there was no work.
By my calculation the typical work week was 80-90 hours with no days off,
no holidays unless it rained. When marauding animals came out of the bush
to steal crops, the whole family was up most of the night. At those times
which were not rare, the work week blossomed into something significantly
more than 90 hours, call it 150.
It is also worth commenting on the health of the people. They were pretty
well-fed, but they were not healthy. People died all the time from
mystery ailments. The father, mother, kids -- it happened several times
in my 3 years there that a family member died after a short illness or no
illness. One extraordinarily fit and healthy twenty-five year old
acquaintance died over night with no illness. Just died. How many of us
have had this experience? Not many, I think, and yet it was common there.
So in summary the free and easy life of the third world person who chooses
not to work in a factory has a work life that starts at age 6, is
typically 80 - 150 hours a week, and is laced with sickness and death.
Typical life span in 1975 was 50 or a bit less.
Compare that to a factory I saw last week in one of the 5 poorest
countries in the world. The work day is no more than 12 hours (mostly
10), work week no more than 6 days. 15,000 employees have 15 doctors (1
per thousand) to address their health issues, and the health issues of
immediate family members. Two meals a day. Free transportation from
their homes to the factory by bus.
The starting age is no younger than 16. By comparison, my father was
working in a U.S. factory at age 11 only 70 years ago.
80-150 hours, no health care, no steady meals, work starting at age 6,
uncertain life span. Compare that to generally 60-70 hours, Sunday off
(also half of Saturday most of the time) plus other holidays, free health
care, two free meals, busses to work.
One of these groups of people looks unhealthy, tired, and is dressed in
tatters. The other is well-dressed, smiling, healthy, in good spirits.
Which is which do you think?
Lots of people refer to this as "exploitation", but it is pretty easy to
see why people would rather work in the factory than not. They are not
coerced to work in the factory, they choose to. It is a workplace of
choice.
If we compare the farmer in west Africa to the factory worker above, the
factory worker has the better life. But let's look at a less dramatic
comparison in China. In China the south east coast is being developed,
and there are many factories there. The government encourages people,
both men and women, to come in from the country and work in these
factories. The situation is similar to what I did in the Peace Corps, or
what volunteer military people do. The pay is poor, hours long, living is
in a dormitory, and life is crude.
But at the end of 2 years the worker gets a nice pay out which they can
take back to their province and use to buy a house, get married, or pay a
dowry. There are more volunteers than there are positions because the
alternative, life on the farm, is about what I described earlier --
unhealthy, brutal, and short. Furthermore the prospect of saving money on
the farm is non-existent.
Some factories are worse. However, most factories have no difficulty
getting workers as long as factory leaders are honest. I know there are
companies that get justified bad press for the way workers are treated.
I do not intend to defend those companies. But their factories are mostly
still better than the alternatives.
That is enough for now. I am sure there are some who will ask why we
cannot pay a living wage, or pay workers what they are paid in rich
countries. These are, in my view, false issues, but if there is sufficient
interest we can discuss them later.
Rol
>I too hope that you'll give it a go. Given your trepidation, though, I
>suggest an exercise: pick one or two of the folks from whom you think you
>might get crap, and start out with a private exchange with them; base the
>exchange on some of the principles of dialogue in The Fifth Discipline
>and the Fieldbook.
--"Rol Fessenden" <rol@fessenden.net>
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