Racists Here and Bombers There…
Another thing you have to realise about globalisation is that the losers aren’t going to be as happy as the winners on either side of the globalisation equation. Particularly when its about cheap labour and getting under the bar of third world legal obligations rather than our own legislation.
The question was asked this week, why do you think racist attacks are growing in the city of Hobart over recent years? Especially when the city of Hobart gains significantly from the income generated by foreign students attending the Sandy Bay Campus of the University of Tasmania. People should all love them and appreciate the value they bring to our society. And, personally, I enjoy the multicultural exposure that internationals provide in my life, but that’s a social benefit and provides only a personal perspective.
The assumption here is that what’s good for the whole of Hobart is good for everybody in Hobart. But that assumption is flawed because the money generated goes into a certain portion of the Hobart economy and not into suburbs like Clarendonvale, for example. Over there they have 20% unemployment (in today’s watered down measurement) as opposed to the 5% or so we have in general. Averages don’t make losers into winners. So, from their perspective they lose their low skilled job opportunities and receive none of the benefits.
Similarly, when you invest in a company that pays $2 per hour (which may be a bang for your buck of $20 in the west) and your factory conforms to third world standards – what do you get? Mmm imagine the local who doesn’t get a job and he’s left with a river system full of chemicals and devoid of fish. He’s going to want to blow you up. I guess now you can see why there are more racists and more terrorists out there.
If we’re going to globalise our businesses we need to do it correctly. And if we’re going to invest we need to do that with companies willing to internationalise ethically. And by ethically I don’t mean to the minimum conformance of social and legal acceptability. I mean ethically in the way you would treat locals and family in your home country. The system driven by maximisation of shareholder wealth is flawed… [end of rant].
