Where Sweatshops Are a Dream…
Child labout is a very complex. I myself, as a business graduate, am unsure how to tackle this issue. I remember doing a case presentation last semester in my Business Ethics class about IKEA. In the case, IKEA’s carpet suppliers in the carpet belt (India, Pakistan and Nepal) were found to have used child labour in the manufacturing. As our group realized in the preparation of our recommendation, there is no easy answer, no easy solution.
Nicholas D. Kristof is widely known for bringing to light human rights abuses in Asia and Africa, such as sex trafficking, human trafficking and the Darfur genocide and is a regular contributor to The New York Times. I’m not sure this article offers anything new about the issue of child labour but it does underline the complexity of the matter. Kristof argues that sweatshops are only a symptom of poverty, not a cause, and banning them closes off one route out of poverty.
Read the article and watch the accompanying video for yourself: here.
good read and overview.
my two cents: he’s right. the illness should be fixed at the source. relieving a few symptoms isn’t going to do much to stop the hemorrhaging. the problem is, most activists are damn hippies, too concerned with their one-track-minded ‘humanitarian’ and ‘moral’ views, refusing to see things in a more global way rather than their limited local perspectives.
Wow, I agree with Nam. That was a great article and video. I always had a soft spot for Cambodia. It’s also heart-warming to be reminded again that business students do care.
Pakistan does not have issues regarding child labour, this is propaganda.
There are no issues or there is no child labour?