1044A change of seasons

posted by Chris on December 22nd, 2006

Over the past year or so, I have started to firmly establish my stance on a lot of ethical issues. After visiting China and Korea in May, many issues which I felt were alien or insignificant became a harsh reality. Human rights started to come to the forefront of my mind as I traveled the streets of Beijing. So many people live in sub-standard conditions, selling postcards just to get enough money to buy a little bit of food for their families. The government was systematically destroying lower income housing in Beijing (the Hutong) and giving families just a few weeks notice to secure a new place to live. The place that your family has lived for possibly generations gets ripped out from under you and you are forced to most likely live on the streets because your family is so poor that you cannot afford to move to another location. It seems contradictory to what communism should ideally be. If essential services are provided by the government, shouldn’t they provide another place of dwelling for their citizens? Seems a little socialist, I guess. It just bothers me that the government will probably destroy a lot of old poor neighborhoods so they can make way for shopping districts and western businesses just so their economy can boom. At what cost, though? China is probably one of the biggest industrial polluters of our time. Their citizens have had to be evacuated from towns because of toxic waste flowing through their water supplies. In some cases they don’t even have advance notice, or any notice at all. There are so many problems with that.
I have been contemplating certain cultural values of my society and it seems that much of the young population is becoming aware of the ethical issues that have been ignored for centuries, the diamond trade is a great example. I love that China is growing and the fact that a market economy is booming, but I also know that it is taking a huge toll on the resources of the country. So much of the land and water are polluted by big business at such a rate that if it continues, future generations will not have much to work with. Perhaps more responsibility is required on the part of the Chinese government, but there are few cases in which communist governments pay mind to their natural environment.

It seems, in my opinion, that simply by existing as a communist country, many human rights are violated. Such a form of government promotes censorship and uniformity. Opinions are not tolerated. Religion is a risk because of possible dissent. It seems overall to be a flawed system.

Although China is a communist country, the people have such a rich culture that it is very difficult to not fall in love with it. The people are generally friendly to westerners and are genuinely interested in learning more about you and your home. It disappoints me that in so many situations we do not reciprocate. It seems we have been bred into a mild isolationist attitude. It’s not going to be productive and I hope that eventually, hopefully sooner than later, we’ll start to learn about and accept other cultures for what they are.

The booming economy of China is mostly the result of artificially controlling the value of their currency and allowing big business to swarm in and take advantage of such low production prices. Although China allows western businesses to zoom in and set up shop, paying workers extremely low wages by western standards, it doesn’t seem at all ethically permissible to take advantage of such options. It isn’t like such huge businesses could afford to pay workers more than the minimum. They deserve it for working 16-hour days in harsh conditions. Better yet, improve conditions and provide essential services that they are denied by the government. A decent place to live would be a great start. In Korea, many of the biggest businesses set up complete communities to serve their employees. Posco steel, although basically a monopoly, gives their employees apartments, community centers, gymnasiums, and many other more than acceptable services to complement their normal wage.

I’m not saying I have all the answers, or any at all, but I know that there are many atrocities being committed by corporations in search of the almighty fortune. I don’t believe that businesses are only out there to make a profit. Corporations that rake in huge profits should be more assertive to take care of the people that have helped them make such huge amounts. Wal-Mart would never be such a marketplace leader in the U.S. if their prices weren’t so low due to Chinese goods stocking every shelf.

Everything that is out there to purchase came at a price. Maybe not always a monetarily measurable price, so I urge everyone to be more proactive in learning about what that price is.