Naomi Klein and Jane Juffer have some great points about the economy, brands, and stereotypes. They also bring up very interesting, debatable topics; however, even if we agree with everything they say, how do we help to stop things such as child labor or horrible working conditions in third-world countries? To be honest, in some ways the situation seems hopeless. I am not saying that there is no hope—only that sometimes it can seem this way.
A lot of the power to change things lies at a level us “normal citizens” do not have complete or easy access to. I do not own a corporation, so it seems hard for me to dictate their actions. However, as many may have heard before, there is power in numbers. In some ways, I like to think of Juffer and Klein’s suggestions through the ‘pay it forward’ theory. Sure it starts small, but it also grows quickly. Before we know it we have started to change something. It may be small, or it may be only a single corporation that we change, but the fact is that we did change it. People are able to make a difference.
So what’s the first step? Honestly, I’m not sure. But I would say a good guess is to be informed. Information in the right hands can be power.
I also think one of the important things Klein mentions is that the brands need us. Not the other way around. The brand’s goal is to appeal to as many people as possible. They want to appeal to us. This also creates a unique paradox, because when you think about it many people talk about trying to take away the power of the corporation (or changing their under-handed dealings in other countries); however, these same corporations have given us power. We may feel helpless, yet the few abilities we have come directly from those corporations whose desire is to please us. What I think Naomi Klein is saying then is that people could (and should?) easily attempt to use this to their advantage the best they can.
Even though the problem may indeed be larger than just the corporations (it is implied that the government laws and regulations do not cover certain areas they should to prevent bad labor conditions and such), I agree with Klein’s argument that sometimes we must start out small. Changing the very fabric of certain government laws seems an extremely daunting task for any group of people; however, by starting with smaller things—such as a single corporation—people could gradually work their way up to accomplish a larger goal in the end.
And yet… there is still a double standard. Other companies swoop in after another’s downfall and claim to be better; yet the same thing is happening in the sweatshops they employ. So does this mean we are forced to look at the bigger picture? Is moving step by step effective in these situations? How can we tell? But if we focus on the bigger picture instead, it is hard not to feel helpless.
Reaching out to others with the same viewpoint, and staying informed seems like a good plan. After all—even if you move slowly, step-by-step it will still lead you in the right direction and you will eventually reach your destination.
This post brings a few quotes by William Clement Stone to mind: "All I want to do is change the world." And " I think there is something, more important than believing: Action! The world is full of dreamers, there aren't enough who will move ahead and begin to take concrete steps to actualize their vision." We need to use our capabilities of agency to put into effect the ideas we have to change the world. As, we have discussed in class, there seems to be a discrepancy between those who are in positions of power to easily influence the world (like businessman and politicians) and those who actually continually study society in universities. We who care arn't always in positions to act, and those that don't are. So how do we get something done in this world with that kind of spacial divide?
ReplyDeleteUltimately, I think it is up to us to use alterity to find alteratives and creative solutions to these problems if we want to have any hope of enacting change. This way, we can actually make concrete changes and reorganize and reshape the spaces we occupy, as well as our relationship to other spaces and the world/nation as a whole. But I do agree that you are right in saying that small steps can lead to larger, more effective, actual change for the better. The whole entire problem, when looked at, may seem hopeless, but small victories can build up and lead to something greater.
ReplyDeleteIt's easy to start a debate on "the evil corporation", but we also have to remember that it is these same corporations that employ a vast number of people in our society. Lashing out against corporations could effect our fellow citizens negatively. For example, a lack of business do to a boycott could lead to the laying off of workers. How then are we supposed to take action? Being informed is good, but what can we do with this information? Unfortunately, I believe that in order for corporations to change, every corporation in the world would have to change in the same way simultaneously. Otherwise, we would see an economic downfall in our country.
ReplyDeleteIn answer to your question and everyone else's question about how to change working conditions, it's not as hard as you think, and it's interesting to me that so few Americans today can imagine the answer. In the not too distant past, labor unions succeeded in doing this. Simple answer. That's why there are guys with guns in those movies I showed you. The guys with guns prevent the labor unions from forming. There were two ways in American history that unions responded to the hired guns. One way was to fight back with physical violence. Many unions did this successfully. Others appealed to the community, since the union members often had deep roots in the community. Globalization makes this appeal to the community more difficult, as Klein points out. And the possibility of responding to hired guns by fighting back is circumscribed by the presence of local militaries that are supported by the U.S. government -- notably an American government that claims everyone is either supportive of capitalism or is a terrorist.
ReplyDeleteI would say that the main way to make a change is to push for a reformation. You would have to have a peaceful manner otherwise violence would lead to violence sake. The problem is that Americans are stuck with the mentality that we need the cheapest thing. We all get furious that we are paying 3.75 for a gallon of gas but in Europe the average price is roughly 8 dollars a gallon. We need a mentality change and that needs to come through reformation in government policies.
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