sweatshops

Connor Newlin

The last article by Bhagwati is the one that I found most interesting. He seems very quick to put down anti sweatshop movements because by saying protesting them will only make it worse. He says that not buying a companies product who uses sweatshops will only leave the workers jobless or forced into prostitution. People legitimately need these jobs to and need the small amount of money they receive to stay afloat so "freeing" them from these jobs will essentially toss them onto the street.  this makes sweatshops seem like a preferable alternative however we cannot deny that they are morally wrong even with the benefits they bring to wealthy economies. I agree that some young people are uninformed and act too rashly on the subject but I think that change can only come about from the governments of countries who look the other way when asked about sweatshops. I am not sure, as a foreign consumer, how much we can do about the sweatshops. Companies can stop using them but then they will find it hard to stay competitive with those who do use them. the only option it seems is reasonable from an economic and moral standpoint is to have governments crack down and install child labor and wage laws. this will force companies to pay a proper price for their products and of course they will lose profits in the short run, but in the long run, as businesses always do, they will find new ways to stay profitable.