How the Good Life in Developed Countries Depends on the Exploitation of Underdeveloped Ones

903 Words2 Pages

The good life in America, or anywhere else is based on the same fundamental human needs, which are physiological. However, with the advent of modernity it has evolved to include many other resources that would be impossible for a single civilization to acquire. Currently, we cannot fulfil those fundamental and luxury needs without the exploitation of cheap labor in under developed countries. However, the good life is more than just the fulfilment of the basic needs; it is the fulfilment of all the human needs. The cost of the good life is reliant on the suffering and exploitation of others whether or not it is intentional. In the Annals of Labor, John Bowe describes the horrid conditions that migrant workers face in the American agricultural industry. Similarly, the Woodcutter by Robert Gwathmey shows how black workers in the south were destined to hard labor jobs with relatively little income. The Clash of Civilizations describes how the Western civilization took advantage of their modernity to assert their dominance and oppress other cultures. Overall, the west has used their advancement to exploit the under developed nations around the world for their resources and cheap labor.
America has rough history regarding the treatment of minorities, especially when the poor treatment leads to a better life for the oppressors. The good life for westerners has evolved over the course of modernization all of which began with the industrial revolution and continued over a few centuries. All cultures based off the major religions want to modernize, but cultures must change over the course of modernization in order to be successful. The needs of the people of western culture have expanded to the point where the cultures must interact on ...

... middle of paper ...

...ically, it is also the American consumers that drive the corporate mentality that takes advantage of cheap labor. The west has forced the rest of the world to modernize at an unnatural rate which has greatly increased the clashing between the global civilizations. The modern capitalist economy produces an environment where profit is king and that creates the market for cheap labor, which the non-modernized countries excel at. The price of the good life for westerners involves the exploitation of workers around the globe to support their lifestyles.

Works Cited
Bowe, John. "Annals of Labor: Nobodies: Does Slavery Exist in America?" The New Yorker. Conde Nast, 21 Apr. 2003. Web.
Gwathmey, Robert. The Woodcutter. 1945. Harn Museum, Gainesville.
Huntington, Samuel P. The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996. Print.

Open Document