Pietra Rivoli uses a random T-shirt she brought from Lubbock, West Texas while she was on vacation to contribute her story about globalization of world trade, especially in the textile and appareled industry. The story begin in Lubbock, West Texas when she described as "cotton city" because there were almost lunar nothingness. She discovered the foundation of the cotton, especially with the process of the seed which gave the cotton farmer some challenges. The stage is a story that is determined mainly by manual labour, and it reduces collision and technology on the other hand. It led the United States not only the world's major cotton producer, but it has been strongly supported by worst-case and public subsidies guarantees. The government …show more content…
funding for agricultural research (including genetically modified seed research, new herbicides and pesticides), and evolving trade barriers. Ones the harvested cotton is collected and shipped out, the story was transferred to China. Rivoli describe a landscape of the manufacturing as the people trapped in rural poverty, government-managed factories, people keen to acknowledge their work achievements; and greedy businessmen, political operators, smart street entrepreneurs, and the international pressure from both of the politicians and businessmen from overseas. The next part of the story was about globalization, which aimed to protect the influence of trade barriers outside the country. Therefore, the metaphorical T-short briefly captured a glimpse of El Salvador, Bolivia, the United States, China, Cambodia, and other countries. Although for the reasons of fairness, the author really just wanted to introduce in more depth the economic and trade realities brought about by the globalization of the textile industry. After all, Rivoli is an economist; data, statistical data, and other large researches that have support the story from paragraph to paragraph, and being some of the most surprising conclusion. Among them, the first and most important point is that, as for as the new clothing industry is concerned, this kind of trade is not as least completely free. However, the most enjoyable thing is the T-shirts have taken a step further, and the story of second-hand clothing was brought to life. This is a story that indeed for free trade for the first time, economic innovation and user needs - but it is far from visibility, newspapers, trade policy discussions and the power of corridors. Millions of clothing are put into trash cans every year and transported into the pits. Fortunately, people are more likely to choose to donate unwanted items to charities. There is little preference for what happens to the clothes they donate, and how donated items are handled and processed by Oxfam and others. Then, Rivoli does exactly this, she describes the journey if the clothes from the Redeemer Army, through the first stage of sorting (searching items that are suitable for charity), to the next stage of sorting (Vintage, exportable item, and separate them from the scrap), and how they end up in different trading channels and even geographical locations. For example, vintage items may appear in Tokyo, and everything in between that depends in the colours, fabrics, quality, and prints will end up in different area of the world, from South America, Africa to Asia. Question 2: The main idea of this book is a key for global business success, and it was explained by a T-shirt's journey. She switched back and forth between the details and "experience" of her own particular T-shirt, the mechanics of the entire industry, political decisions related to foreign trade, import quotas, large-scale lobbying and national protectionism. Also, it explains about how the T-shirts will end up if they are not donated to charity or brought to Goodwill and The Salvation Army. Personally, I think it is somehow related to macroeconomic because of the cheap labour, slavery, and unemployment rate. There are also many other reason that causes of economic shocks such as irregular innovation, productivity changes, monetary factors, political events, and financial instability. Also, there are some unequal burdens such as occupation, age, race and ethnicity, gender that affect people losing their jobs. In p.208, "In many district, unemployment was above 50 percent, leaving half of the men, and most of the women and children, dependent on the parishes for support. And the cheap cotton imports cost not only jobs but lives." Beside this book is an education material of the process of a T-shirt, it is also related to some important today happening today. Question 3: Rivoli does not make an argument for either side in the book.
However she did gave an example using God to kindly argue about that. In page 257, she explained about some Christians in the early decade believed that God did not allow people to trade because St. Augustine unambiguous in his disdain about people who do trade will not attain the grace from God, and that is an example for protectionism in the earlier decade. However, she argue with another quote by Libanuis which was writing nearly 2,000 years old, "God did not bestow all products upon all parts of the earth, but distributed His gifts over different regions…" From this quote, she augured that actually trade was a part of God's plan to help people get along. And she did mentioned at the same page, "As I watch the man far-flung members of my T-shirt's extended family continue to 'cultivate a social relationship' with one another, I can only agree with Libanius." This statement stated that she supports more in the free trade side than protectionism. She also uses the concept of a free market to condemn the working conditions of a textile factory. She believes that U.S. leaders are seen as stupid by the protectionism system created by the textile lobbies. The protectionism system consists of trade associations, trade agreements, trade and lobby groups, and so on. These systems are completely in contravention of free trade, because countries cannot close trade barriers and thus close competitive industries such as the textile industry to achieve free trade in the United States. This kind of trade barrier has the lease benefit to American textile workers and helps the competing
countries. Question 4: According the Rivoli, she elaborated on the role of politics and power in negotiating trade agreements and the influence of U.S. foreign policy on opening up markets. In this situation, she uses the perspective of market interaction to condemn leaders for using politics to achieve their political interests while sacrificing the tendency of county economic development. Question 5: There are few things I found intriguing about this book. First of all is the fact that U.S were the number one cotton manufactured country but not China, then how the second-hand clothing end up if there are not donated to charity, or to Good will. Also, I have always think protectionism is a bad idea, however Rivoli gave examples of both side making me reconsidered about my thinking although I support free trade.
La Pietà of Giovanni Della Robbia is amazing religious glazed and painted terracotta dated 1510-1520. It was mainly intended to introduce the meaning of the Bible story to large and mainly illiterate audiences. One of the things that this image can tell us about life in western civilization is how much the artists were focused on translating the bible and trying to understand it without the help of the Catholic Church through art and humanism. La Pietà is one of the richest and best known collections of Della Robbia sculptures at the springtime of the renaissance. The creator of the sculpture is Giovanni Della Robbia; the first and epic of a dynasty of important pottery artists, decorators, potters, and terracotta workers. Della Robbia developed a unique pottery glaze that made his creations much more durable in the outdoors and therefore much suitable for use on the exterior of buildings. This was an extraordinarily formal and refined technique that immediately met with great success, so much so that the Della Robbia family’s work flourished for over one hundred years. It uniquely combines archaeometric and stylistic time-related information about the renaissance age in Western Civilization. In its context, La Pietà was created in the 15th century, the renaissance age , when there was a surge in artistic, literary, and scientific activity , especially in Florence, the third largest city in Europe, an independent republic where the Italian Renaissance began, and a banking and commercial capital after London and Constantinople. The renaissance era when this sculptured was created was also marked by few major events such as: religious problems in church, Erasmus publishing Greek edition of the New Treatment ...
Roberts, Russell. (2006). The Choice: A Fable of Free Trade and Protectionism. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Document 2 shows that Muslims only support equal trade because unfair commerce is not endorsed by the Qur’an. In Document 4, it shows that Christians will not pardon the practice of double dealing. Ibn Khaldun writes that commerce, by definition, is a deceitful practice, full of lies and tricks, but that at the same time, it’s a natural way of life that still requires Muslims to practice the fair exchange of goods (Doc 5). This shows that Muslims also knew the nature of the job they endorsed, and warned against becoming a sinful merchant. The Islamic court of Ankara judged a case where the Turkish weavers’ guild brought up charges against a merchant for unfair purchase and hoarding of materials (Doc 7). This shows the animosity that Muslims hold for unjust commerce. They found it unfair for one person to monopolize on an industry and leave every other merchant of the same trade with nothing. This source is reliable because of its state importance. As a government document, there is little chance of bias being in it. All of these documents show that both Christianity and Islam are shown to oppose deceptive trading
In The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy, business professor Pietra Rivoli takes the reader on a fascinating around-the-world adventure to reveal the life story of her six-dollar T-shirt. Traveling from a West Texas cotton field to a Chinese factory, and from trade negotiations in Washington to a used clothing market in Africa, Rivoli examines international trade through the life story of this simple product. Her compelling story shows that both globalization's critics and its supporters have oversimplified the world of international trade.
“The ‘Triangle’ company, “With blood this name will be written in the history of the American workers’ movement, and with feeling will this history recall the names of the strikers of this shop- of the crusaders” (Von Drehle 86). Even before it happen, the Forward predicted the terrible disaster of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory that occurred one year, one month, and seventeen days later (86). Triangle: The Fire that Changed America, by David Von Drehle tells the story of the horrible fire.
Patrick Buchanan was a supporter of free trade from early on in his career until 1987. At that time, while he was seeking the Republican nomination for President, he was on a campaign trip. He visited a small town which was based around a plant. 500 people were about to loose their jobs. He spoke with workers and they blamed competition from international trade. That event changed his mind about free trade. He believes that the social benefits are not great enough to override the economic disadvantages that free trade causes. It benefits, the upper class, large corporations, and those who have received advanced educations, but not the "blue collar" workers. Those who have not received extensive schooling and are best served to do manual labor suffer greatly from foreign competition. Businesses can have plants in other countries where workers are paid as little as fifty cents, while plants in America are required to pay workers several dollars minimum. Many industries are building plants in foreign countries, manufacturing their goods there, and shipping them back. As we have increased globalization and extended trading with the reduction of tariffs, the implementation of NAFTA, and the organization of the WTO, it has become easier for business to hire workers in countries with lower wages. This has caused many manufacturing workers across America to loose their jobs. Over the past several decades, as free trade increased, the gap between the affluent and the middle class has risen dramatically. Buchanan believes that free trade is brining the decline of America, and our government is doing it to our own nation. They are increasing foreign relations and trading in an effort to bring about world peace. However, Buchanan does not believe that free trade will aid in world peace. He believes that the ideal for free trade, where each country specifies in the industry it is best in, can never be obtained.
When it comes to music history, the Castrati are one of the most important and debated topics. The Castrati were men (in Italian opera) that had been castrated during puberty to stop a flow of hormones, causing them to have the voice of a soprano woman, but the vocal power of an older, full-grown man. A general estimate said that four thousand boys a year were castrated in Italy. Some Castrati tried to make it in church choirs (which often gave them almost nothing of monetary value), most chose the opera route. They reigned supreme when they got onstage, being the obvious star of the show. They were the master performers that drew the crowd in with their amazing voices. During the Baroque period, they made up more than half of the soprano singers in opera.
Before liberal economic views emerged, mercantilism was the economic doctrine the government practiced to protect his or her own domestic products. Voltaire’s quote explains the main goal of mercantilism, “It is clear ...
Bastiat writes, “Each of us has a natural right - from God – to defend his person, his liberty, and his property.” He makes the point that that this individual right can be used collectively; a common force as a substitution of individual forces, to protect persons, liberties, and properties, and therefore cannot conversely be used for the purpose of destroying persons, liberties, and properties. Bastiat, when describing his ideal “simple, easy to accept, economical, limited, non-oppressive, just and enduring government” summarizes his economic principles simply as “the non-intervention of the state in private affairs”. For he believes that “a science of economics must be developed before a science of a science of politics can be logically formulated.” He summarizes that science simply; “if the law benefits one citizen at the expense of another by doing what the citizen himself cannot do without committing a crime…then abolish this law without delay.” The [Catholic] Church, and its followers, share the same ideals. For the Church teaches us that, “the free market is the most efficient instrument for utilizing resources and effectively responding to needs” and that “to safeguard…a free economy…the State must adopt suitable legislation…in such a way that it does not become abusively involved in the various market activities, the carrying out of which is and must
Many Americans choose to forget the past brutalities of child labor. Unfortunately, the past does not disappear. Child labor did take place in the U.S. and the Carolina Cotton Mill photograph is a prominent witness. Lewis Wickes Hine is the artist behind this powerful photo, which was taken in the early 1900s (Dimock). Hine’s Carolina Cotton Mill embodies the struggle of child labor through the incorporation of situational information, artistic elements such as lines and space, and cultural values.
Sumner does not support a “protectionist” trade policy as it did not work in Spain. A “protectionist” trade policy is where trade is restrained between countries by taxing imported goods, and government policy allows fair competition between imports, and domestic goods and services. Sumner states “[the colonies] will revolt against us for just the same reason for which they revolted against Spain” (Sumner, p. 8). As commerce is a way a country succeeds in growing, it only follows that trade between countries should occur. In defending expansionism, the “principles” were once recognized as valid, but as time passes by and countries change so do the “principles”. Expansionism is the policy of economic expansion. Sumner dictates “times have changed” and talks about “principles” as the “new ones are certainly no more valid than the old ones” (Sumner, p. 12). The principles on which this country was founded are full of mistakes and are dated, and Sumner agrees,”these are popular errors which in time will meet with harsh correction” (Sumner, p.
In conclusion, Dani Rodrik believes that globalization works best when it is not pushed too far. This allows domestic governments to hold on to some authority over trade alongside policy-making space. Free-market trade going unchecked through hyper globalization would present a problem because people undermine the regulations that citizens are so used to being protected by. This would lead to a problem concerning legitimacy. One solution would be to impose a set of regulations among all countries, but that would be advantageous to some and disadvantageous to others, making it an unfair solution. Creating policy-making space provides governments with some ability to keep trade legitimate as globalization expands.
Another economist, Douglas Irwin, wrote a book titled “Against the Tide”. The book is an Intellectual History of Free Trade. It is an interesting, educational account of how free trade appeared and of how the concept of free trade has coped with two centuries of attacks and criticism. The behavior of an economy is reflected in the behavior or nature of the individuals and firms that make up the economy. So by studying how the individuals and firms act, we can be able to understand the economy.
Perhaps, I have been overly critical. Friedman deserves credit for delivering in-depth and often compelling points throughout the text. And few, I suspect, would dispute that the modern world is figuratively smaller than its historical counterpart, at least for occupants of technologically advanced regions. But should we all summarily embrace the “radical free-trade” ideology extolled by Friedman? The lack of comprehensive statistical analyses accompanying the seemingly subjective case presented by the author cannot be overlooked. With this in mind, I don’t see how any definitive conclusions regarding globalization could be drawn from the text, and would caution any reader against being swept away by the chorus of harmonious voices who
Both articles clarify the benefits of fair trade but the costs overweight the positives pushing me against free trade. I believe the points both authors have stated portray clear evidence of how free trade does not aid all of the farmers, especially the poorest ones. After this assignment my viewpoint of free trade has shifted, although I still think that free trade is beneficial in order to guarantee customers purchases are receive back to the producers.