Op-ed project
Chris Niles
The Silk Road Unravels
China has always been a country of interest to the world since the days of the silk road. The Silk Road has now morphed into shipping crates and iPhones. But what has this done to China? The effects of globalization on this country have rendered it the fifth most productive manufacturer in the world. Americans in their love affair with free market capitalism tend to think this means good things for China. As a result most Americans do not know that this “success” has come at the expense of many of its inhabitants’ well-being.
As Chinese Ambassador Zha Peixin says in his speech at the annual Chinese Economic Association, “Developing countries can obtain some foreign investment, advanced technologies and management expertise, but at the same time they are the most vulnerable to the negative impacts of globalization and lack the ability to effectively fend off and reduce the risks and pitfalls that come along with globalization.” The world’s new economy has left China divided in four parts: the poor, the rich, the globalized, and the traditional. While most media focuses on the rising middle class, the poor are often left out of the equation. A little research shows wide disparity of opinion about the state of China’s poor. If we are to understand whether globalization is on balance a force for good in the world, we need to get a better grasp on its effects on China’s lower classes.
These four areas of China are the defining factors that make up China’s economy. You have those that follow a traditional lifestyle in China that become the poor who work for the rich in the globalized world. Then there are those who find opportunity in the new economy, usually the already-educated. If China continues to fuel the world’s economy through depleting its traditions and replacing them with free market business tactics, the country is likely to suffer an identity crisis. The exploitation of the poor that globalization demands leads to greater income inequality.
Many of those who live in China’s upper class agree that the income gap between the lower/middle class and the upper class in China is far too large (Yingzi). The road of development that China has taken has lead it to massive economical success but to some, the growth has been too rapid. According to Robert Weil, this leaves entire classes of people -- often peasants from the countryside who have moved to the city for work -- in the dust.
As journalist Robert Weil states, “Rapidly changing conditions of the working classes in China, and their struggles in response to the new circumstances, have enormous implications for people everywhere.”. For example, there are those who admire globalization’s properties who will argue that many desperately poor people find themselves in better circumstances after they begin working in globalized factories.
Left with no other options, factory work provides at least some income and stability. What these admirers do not mention is that many of these factories are sweatshops with abominable working conditions and measly pay (Peixin).
Furthermore globalization in agriculture (e.g. GMOs) is the same force leaving small farmers destitute and faced with starvation unless they move to a factory (Weil). So not only are farmers being pulled to the city by job “opportunities,” they are being pushed out by Big Agriculture and the impossible demands of GMO economics.
Globalization’s admirers will also argue that for the first time in history China has a middle class. This has come about in part due to expanding business opportunities in the wake of global investment in China. However, China now has greater income inequality than either India or Indonesia. As a result, the intellectual class finds itself aligning more and more with the plight of the proletariat as data documenting widening disparity emerges and horror stories from factories -- including high suicide rates -- do too.
With this sudden change in economical income, the people of China’s middle class often find themselves struggling to keep up with the rate at which their world is growing. While globalization has brought China many riches and fantastic business deals, it is the leading cause of misery to the lower and working classes in China.
The despair felt by these workers are rarely ever felt in the world; only after it turns to suicide, does the globalized world take a look at what they’re doing to some. Sadly, the corporations that are to blame for these actions have a way of manipulating the media so that the average public eye sees only what the corporation wants them to see.
Mainstream media tends to focus on opportunities for poor people in China and leaves some stark realities in the dark. A more balanced broadcast regarding the poor is desirable so that the full effects of globalization can be better understood.
Critique of American companies that exploit sweatshop conditions and contribute to income disparity is therefore warranted and if anything needs to be made stronger. After all, Americans need to be made aware of this since this same income disparity is occurring at home. Globalization’s Silk Road does neither the American nor Chinese working class any favors, but renders their existence increasingly desperate and limited.
Word Count: 777
Work Cited
Barton, Dominic. "Mapping China's middle class." McKinsey Quarterly . Web. 3 Feb. 2014.
Peixin, Zha. "China and Globalization." Chinese Embassy . 14 Apr. 2003. Web. 3 Feb. 2014.
Weil, Robert. "A New Revolution? Chinese Working Classes Confront the Globalized Economy." Oakland Institute 1 July 2006. Web. 31 Jan. 2014.
Yingzi, Tan. "Chinese Upper Class Growing." China Daily June 2006. Web. 3 Feb. 2014.
The Silk Road Unravels
China has always been a country of interest to the world since the days of the silk road. The Silk Road has now morphed into shipping crates and iPhones. But what has this done to China? The effects of globalization on this country have rendered it the fifth most productive manufacturer in the world. Americans in their love affair with free market capitalism tend to think this means good things for China. As a result most Americans do not know that this “success” has come at the expense of many of its inhabitants’ well-being.
As Chinese Ambassador Zha Peixin says in his speech at the annual Chinese Economic Association, “Developing countries can obtain some foreign investment, advanced technologies and management expertise, but at the same time they are the most vulnerable to the negative impacts of globalization and lack the ability to effectively fend off and reduce the risks and pitfalls that come along with globalization.” The world’s new economy has left China divided in four parts: the poor, the rich, the globalized, and the traditional. While most media focuses on the rising middle class, the poor are often left out of the equation. A little research shows wide disparity of opinion about the state of China’s poor. If we are to understand whether globalization is on balance a force for good in the world, we need to get a better grasp on its effects on China’s lower classes.
These four areas of China are the defining factors that make up China’s economy. You have those that follow a traditional lifestyle in China that become the poor who work for the rich in the globalized world. Then there are those who find opportunity in the new economy, usually the already-educated. If China continues to fuel the world’s economy through depleting its traditions and replacing them with free market business tactics, the country is likely to suffer an identity crisis. The exploitation of the poor that globalization demands leads to greater income inequality.
Many of those who live in China’s upper class agree that the income gap between the lower/middle class and the upper class in China is far too large (Yingzi). The road of development that China has taken has lead it to massive economical success but to some, the growth has been too rapid. According to Robert Weil, this leaves entire classes of people -- often peasants from the countryside who have moved to the city for work -- in the dust.
As journalist Robert Weil states, “Rapidly changing conditions of the working classes in China, and their struggles in response to the new circumstances, have enormous implications for people everywhere.”. For example, there are those who admire globalization’s properties who will argue that many desperately poor people find themselves in better circumstances after they begin working in globalized factories.
Left with no other options, factory work provides at least some income and stability. What these admirers do not mention is that many of these factories are sweatshops with abominable working conditions and measly pay (Peixin).
Furthermore globalization in agriculture (e.g. GMOs) is the same force leaving small farmers destitute and faced with starvation unless they move to a factory (Weil). So not only are farmers being pulled to the city by job “opportunities,” they are being pushed out by Big Agriculture and the impossible demands of GMO economics.
Globalization’s admirers will also argue that for the first time in history China has a middle class. This has come about in part due to expanding business opportunities in the wake of global investment in China. However, China now has greater income inequality than either India or Indonesia. As a result, the intellectual class finds itself aligning more and more with the plight of the proletariat as data documenting widening disparity emerges and horror stories from factories -- including high suicide rates -- do too.
With this sudden change in economical income, the people of China’s middle class often find themselves struggling to keep up with the rate at which their world is growing. While globalization has brought China many riches and fantastic business deals, it is the leading cause of misery to the lower and working classes in China.
The despair felt by these workers are rarely ever felt in the world; only after it turns to suicide, does the globalized world take a look at what they’re doing to some. Sadly, the corporations that are to blame for these actions have a way of manipulating the media so that the average public eye sees only what the corporation wants them to see.
Mainstream media tends to focus on opportunities for poor people in China and leaves some stark realities in the dark. A more balanced broadcast regarding the poor is desirable so that the full effects of globalization can be better understood.
Critique of American companies that exploit sweatshop conditions and contribute to income disparity is therefore warranted and if anything needs to be made stronger. After all, Americans need to be made aware of this since this same income disparity is occurring at home. Globalization’s Silk Road does neither the American nor Chinese working class any favors, but renders their existence increasingly desperate and limited.
Word Count: 777
Work Cited
Barton, Dominic. "Mapping China's middle class." McKinsey Quarterly . Web. 3 Feb. 2014.
Peixin, Zha. "China and Globalization." Chinese Embassy . 14 Apr. 2003. Web. 3 Feb. 2014.
Weil, Robert. "A New Revolution? Chinese Working Classes Confront the Globalized Economy." Oakland Institute 1 July 2006. Web. 31 Jan. 2014.
Yingzi, Tan. "Chinese Upper Class Growing." China Daily June 2006. Web. 3 Feb. 2014.
Op-Ed reflection
For this project we had to write an Op-Ed and draw a political cartoon about a controversial topic involved with globalization. The purpose of this was to gain a better understanding of globalization and the world outside of where we live.
After doing this project, I have gained a whole new understanding of globalization. Before this project, I had always known that things happened in the world and I had always known that countries often work in harmony with each other, I had not known however, the extent at which people would get treated through theses business and international connections. In doing this project, I learned a few key things about globalization; One, while the world often times works with one another, it works against each other just as often. Two, when it comes to globalization, there are always at least two sides to one story; you have the good, happy, and extremely efficient side, and you have the side that many people would rather not talk about, the side where there poor wallow in misery that is brought upon them by those higher up and business deals always have a twisted outcome. But what I really took away from this project was the ability to look at things in a new way, a way that allows me to look past the glimmering cover and into the usually darker inside.
As an artist I find that many things inspire me, and from that I am able to make stunning things. This was not the case with my political cartoon. Looking at my first draft, it is plain to see that I did not know what I was really doing. The very idea of doing art that wasn't in digital form scared me and still does. Because of this, I found it increasingly difficult to continue to draw out and sketch my political cartoon. Many drafts later, the idea was essentially the same but the outcome was drastically different. You could see lines that were actually straight and 3-D objects that didn't have a wonky perspective view. I would still not call my self a cartoonist, but rather just a simple high schooler doing yet another dreary assignment. So as an artist and not a cartoonist specifically, I would have to say that I have learned a few new techniques when it comes to making something looking semi-real and believable. Among these techniques that I have learned are; perspective drawing, drawing of organic and rigid forms, and proper light distribution. Obviously I have a long way to go before creating a drawing that is perfect in nearly every way but you have to start somewhere right? Whether I be a cartoonist or digital artist, the techniques learned will carry over to both of them and help me refine whatever work I do in the future.
Writing has always been something that I was naturally good at and had fun doing most of the time but the kind of writing that I have grown accustomed to was creative writing and entirely factual writing. As you may imagine, writing this Op-Ed was incredibly hard for me. Usually when writing something, the words just flow from my mind through my fingers and onto the keyboard. That was not the case with this Op-Ed. During the process of writing my piece, I would stay up hours at a time at night just staring blankly at my screen, struggling immensely with trying to bring my words to the page. I actually had to find legitimate sources and put my own opinionated spin on them, I had to combine my creative and artistic mind with my critical and cynical intellect to create an Op-Ed that was only half good. This kind of writing differs greatly from writing I have done in the past, I am not used to making an incredibly strong point and then using two pages to explain in a believable way. To me, it was impossible. But, as with most things, from struggle comes gain and from my struggling with this writing piece, I gained the know how to write a piece of something and drive it home with powerful yet short sentences and strong and frightful words. No matter what it is I write in the future, I will always be drawing from my experience with this Op-Ed.
After doing this project, I have gained a whole new understanding of globalization. Before this project, I had always known that things happened in the world and I had always known that countries often work in harmony with each other, I had not known however, the extent at which people would get treated through theses business and international connections. In doing this project, I learned a few key things about globalization; One, while the world often times works with one another, it works against each other just as often. Two, when it comes to globalization, there are always at least two sides to one story; you have the good, happy, and extremely efficient side, and you have the side that many people would rather not talk about, the side where there poor wallow in misery that is brought upon them by those higher up and business deals always have a twisted outcome. But what I really took away from this project was the ability to look at things in a new way, a way that allows me to look past the glimmering cover and into the usually darker inside.
As an artist I find that many things inspire me, and from that I am able to make stunning things. This was not the case with my political cartoon. Looking at my first draft, it is plain to see that I did not know what I was really doing. The very idea of doing art that wasn't in digital form scared me and still does. Because of this, I found it increasingly difficult to continue to draw out and sketch my political cartoon. Many drafts later, the idea was essentially the same but the outcome was drastically different. You could see lines that were actually straight and 3-D objects that didn't have a wonky perspective view. I would still not call my self a cartoonist, but rather just a simple high schooler doing yet another dreary assignment. So as an artist and not a cartoonist specifically, I would have to say that I have learned a few new techniques when it comes to making something looking semi-real and believable. Among these techniques that I have learned are; perspective drawing, drawing of organic and rigid forms, and proper light distribution. Obviously I have a long way to go before creating a drawing that is perfect in nearly every way but you have to start somewhere right? Whether I be a cartoonist or digital artist, the techniques learned will carry over to both of them and help me refine whatever work I do in the future.
Writing has always been something that I was naturally good at and had fun doing most of the time but the kind of writing that I have grown accustomed to was creative writing and entirely factual writing. As you may imagine, writing this Op-Ed was incredibly hard for me. Usually when writing something, the words just flow from my mind through my fingers and onto the keyboard. That was not the case with this Op-Ed. During the process of writing my piece, I would stay up hours at a time at night just staring blankly at my screen, struggling immensely with trying to bring my words to the page. I actually had to find legitimate sources and put my own opinionated spin on them, I had to combine my creative and artistic mind with my critical and cynical intellect to create an Op-Ed that was only half good. This kind of writing differs greatly from writing I have done in the past, I am not used to making an incredibly strong point and then using two pages to explain in a believable way. To me, it was impossible. But, as with most things, from struggle comes gain and from my struggling with this writing piece, I gained the know how to write a piece of something and drive it home with powerful yet short sentences and strong and frightful words. No matter what it is I write in the future, I will always be drawing from my experience with this Op-Ed.