Globalization

Globalization al Affiliation) After reading a number of books published on this issue, I have come to the conclusion thatWestern consumers will have to pay more in order to support the living wage for overseas workers. At first glance this conclusion may seem ludicrous, but I will back it while maintaining objectivity in my discussion. According to Glickman (1997), it has already been established that business owners in developing countries are not willing to raise the salaries of their employees in order to meet the living wage (those who have managed to do that have done it grudgingly). The primary reason for this is greed, because most of those businesses literally rip off their workers. They make huge profits through exporting their products but still expect their employees to work for meager wages under tough conditions. Because of this, the International Labor Organization (ILO) has instituted punitive and very harsh sanctions that are meant to prevent workers in developing countries from being exploited. This, however, has put Western governments and consumers at crossroads. This is because the governments want consumers to be able to purchase the commodities they need, but at the same time they do not want to appear to be supporting the oppressive business owners (Stabile, 2008).
Local companies generally produce similar goods but at much higher prices, therefore they are not popular with consumers (Waltman, 2004). I mean, why buy a carpet manufactured in America for $50 when you can buy the same carpet for $30 if it is Chinese-made? Eventually, consumers will pay more to support the living wage for overseas workers. This is because even if they were to pay more, it would still be considerably lower than the prices they would have to pay for similar products manufactured in the Western world. Governments are aware of this and therefore they will press upon the exporting countries to ensure that factory and business owners’ wages meet the minimum requirements. This, I believe, would be satisfactory for all parties concerned.
References
Glickman, L. B. (1997). A living wage: American workers and the making of consumer society.
Ithaca, N. Y.: Cornell University Press.
Stabile, D. (2008). The living wage lessons from the history of economic thought. Cheltenham,
UK: Edward Elgar, 2008. Print.
Waltman, J. L. (2004). The case for the living wage. New York: Algora Pub.