Sonja van Baardwijk-Holten wrote:
<me>
>> but there are a *lot* of laws that I can't see *any* problem with enforcing
>>
>> elsewhere. Child labor laws, regulations on the length of the working
>> day, environmental protection standards... these are not optional, they
>> are moral imperitives that everyone, *everyone*, EVERYONE, should have to
>> follow, no matter what sort of profit they have to sacrifice. And no
>> matter what the local laws may be.
>
>I envision that that might result in some chaos.
Cool. Chaos is *fun*.
>The local companys would have to start investing into safety, shorter working
>hours, environmental policy and more social stuff. Also they'd have to pay
>higher wages in order to attract good enough workers. This has the potential
>to put them out of business because they cannot sell their stuff on the local
>market and they usually don't have acces to any other markets. Also no good.
>
>If you think about it a little longer you can see that all kinds of trouble
>could come from that, it isn't the way I like it, but there also isn't an
>easy answer to the problem.
Of course it's not an easy answer; there's never an easy answer....
I actually liked your scenario right up to the "cannot sell their stuff
on the local market" bit, because I see that as something that ought to
be a priority of "developed" countries; not only bringing capital into
other countries, but also bringing a better system, which I believe is
what JDG rather optimistically claims they are doing already. That does
produce a rather sticky point, though....
I would have to do some research, but I have to wonder if a lot of local
businesses aren't experiencing this problem already. After all, American
(and other) countries have the infastructure and the capital to invest in
more financially efficient production methods, which means they can
*already* undercut the local businesses even without environmental/labor
regulations, and, as far as I know, they are. I have a book around here
somewhere that I gave my dad for Christmas called "Ten Ways WalMart is
Destroying America- And the World" which I should dig up and take a look
at; I believe it had some figures on how WalMart was destroying the local
markets of less developed countries. I know the damned place has
destroyed the local market of my hometown.
*If* I can prove that point (so, ok, it's a big if) it would suggest that
holding other companies to the standard of their home countries wouldn't
have many more negative effects than letting them move to other countries
already does, and may even have a positive effect on the
environmental/human rights situations in those countries- which certainly
*sounds* like something the land of the free and the home of the brave
ought to be trying for.....
Anyone else have actual *facts* on this one?
Kat Feete
I think I'm in over my head... again....
---------
Do not needlessly endanger your lives until I
give you the signal.
--Dwight D. Eisenhower
