“Trade and Globalization: The Good News about Asian Sweatshops,” is an book in
which Charles Wheelan explains why, in his opinion trade is beneficial to everyone. I agree with
this in many aspects, such as the example that was shown about Nike shoes being produced in
Vietnam by unskilled workers for a very low price according to American standards, but it is a
steady job for the workers and provides a cheaper price for the shoes than if they were produced
in America. Vietnamese workers are more likely to work for a lower wage because they require
less to live comfortably, whereas American workers, because it is more expensive to live in
America. It is shown that it is much cheaper to produce goods in other countries that have a
lower economy than to produce in America. Therefore, the argument that all things sold in the
United States should be produced in America is refuted because it would then raise the price of
all the goods, since the workers would have to be paid a significant amount more and because of
that have only negative impacts on the economy. Another argument that was rebutted in the
article was that Chinese sweatshops should be shut down because they create poverty. The
reality shown is that the sweatshops themselves are created by the poverty of the country. It is
pointed out that the sweatshops could possibly give their workers a better deal than what they
could find on their own to earn money. Therefore, boycotting items that are said to be made in
these Chinese sweatshops is actually hurting the workers more than the literal sweatshops. One
more issue discussed was child labor. The example given was of children working to produce
shirts for WalMart in Bangladesh in 1993. There was a legislation passed which made it illegal
to employ these children, the idea being that they would go back to school and get an education
because they wouldn’t have to work. The reality of the matter is that most of these child laborers
were forced to work in worse conditions and a large percentage were even forced into
prostitution. So in the long run, passing this legislation actually hurt the children more. I agree
with the arguments made by this article and by Wheelan. They are all backed by facts and real
life examples, meaning that they are likely valid arguments.