Free or fair trade?

Alot of deaths are 'easily preventable'. But under the current system, millions of lives slip through the fingers. For the idealists, they dream of a better world. For everyone else its a 'make due with less' scenerio.
I believe that AN IMPROVEMENT is better than NO IMPROVEMENT at all. He lived a tragically short life [whatever that was is really kind of irrelivent by your theory], but he lived LONGER than he would have without the factory job that gave him lead poisening.

Also, I'd like to hear if you have any solutions to the problem.

Note: No, I do not understand Hunt's reference... unless it is 'mind is blown'.

We could be paying these people so much more if we just gave first world workers there equal share of pay. As well as in the process DIRECTLY increase there pay by ending there greater amounts of surplus labor.

The fact is we are taking ADVANTAGE of there situation and exploiting them. Whether or not we are mildly helping them, we are taking advantage of there poverty.

Why do you even care about anything related to the monetary system? You going reformist on me boy?!

Huh. Here I thought we'd never agree on anything.

I'm speaking within context.

Not something I would advise when it comes to the workings of the monetary system. Like pay. Paying every worker millions would have loads of negative impacts regarding things like money supply and creation, prices, cost of living, ect.

It's not right that someone should have to die just because their employer needs to keep costs as low as possible to provide extremely cheap consumer goods to the West. It could have been avoided by something as simple as a mask but that was apparently too much. Why should the fact he lived just a bit longer make any difference he still died an early death because of his employer. I believe that his employer should be tried for murder.

It is because the West should not start dictating the politics of the East. Your trying to create some sort of neo-colonialism. Maybe your right, maybe we should take up the White man's burden again.

What?! You free trade guys should really just stick to arguing from an economic standpoint and stop pretending things like abusing the shit out of cheap labor sources actually contribute towards some noble goal.

I agree. We should stick to arguing the broad economic benefits that free trade brings to all parties, and leave the weak moral arguments to the other side.

Ideologues are so funny.

I agree

Pssshhhh, morals. Who cares about the right thing to do so long as we get to sit on a leather couch watching Jersey Shore?

Damn it Kara. You're no fun anymore.

That is Capitalism at its finest.

That actually varies from employer ot employer. Some Chinese companies provide the masks. Some require them and the employee has to get them. Some don't care. The former two are growing in number as the labor sources are drying up.

Because his death was delayed by an exponencial rate and he lived a reletively fruitful life. It is not pretty, but it is true.

How many employers would end up that way if they did that? How many millions would lose their jobs and standards of living? The system isn't perfect, but it is better than the alternative. For now.
And don't think that people haven't already tried to do that.

What is the Alternative? I presented one, but nobody seemed to care.

In my opinion, free trade is fair. But the general consensus on these forums seems to be that my economic opinions are backwards, so maybe fair trade is free. In which case I'll take this "free trade" and make people pay to use it! I'll be rich!

About debate: Free trade has shown its self-time and time again to hinder the possibility of poverty stricken nations to rise up (which there is currently 3 billion in poverty) this can be seen throughout most of Africa and South east Asia. The most noteworthy of the implications of Free trade is evident in the African nation of Kenya. Gross domestic product (GDP) grew an annual average of 7% from 1963 and up to 1973. Agricultural production grew by 5% in this same period, stimulated by redistributing estates, and opening new areas to cultivation. However In the 1980s foreign aid from rich countries conceded with huge amount of Liberalization which lead to the government cutting tariffs and deregulating their markets. The Liberalization of the 1980s not only continued but increased in the 1990s making Kenya a shell of its former self. Fact: More Kenyans live in Poverty (and unemployment) now than they did in the 1970s which it is 40% now and was below 12% in the 1970s this has mean the Kenyan unemployment has tripled under the implications of this so called “Free trade”. Free trade is the means for the west, who control 99% of world trade is conducted by the west , all Free trade does is serve the nature of the elites who marginalize products (such as coffee ) due to regulations put on by large western governments (and eastern too) Free trade and I cannot stress this enough is only for the elites so they can prosper under free trade’s regulations which charge high taxes on imported goods so poor countries can only afford to export raw materials, this is yet again evidenced in Kenya.

If you want to see what Free trade does go to Africa, which fair trade does not wish to get rid of all free trade but, the “fair trade” approach seeks to balance the economic benefits of free trade with other values of community stability and income security. Fair trade is an approach to trade policies that assist not only workers but communities and not corporations. If we implement Fair trade then poverty stricken economies would rise and education and health care would follow suit.

Fair trade is and without a doubt an approach to trade policies that benefit workers, communities and the environment, rather than multinational corporations.

Fair trade for workers coorpatives today.

I support free trade mainly because tariffs suck balls.

It's a bit more complicated than that, but ultimately, why the hell should we? We're under no obligation to provide for anyone else, and our state is obligated only to protect us. Morality is unbelievably broad and never objectively valuable.