Environment Monday, Nov 10 2008

The Kyoto Protocol is an example of several attempts by the international body to tackle the many environmental problems which are brought about by the insatiable quest for “progress” and capital accumulation. The treaty is intended to achieve “stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system” (wikipedia). In other words, it intends to lower greenhouse gas emissions in member countries, thus reducing or slowing down global warming, which occurs as a result of those gases accumulating in the atmosphere. It “establishes legally binding commitments for the reduction of six greenhouse gases”, with general requirements for member countries, and additional ones for industrialized countries (wikipedia). In doing this, it clearly recognizes a difference between the level of emissions produced by industrialized countries and the rest. However, this is problematic in the following way: who’s to decide which countries are “industrialized”, especially when almost all countries around the world have some sort of industry or other? Furthermore, greenhouse gases hardly remain only in the atmosphere above the countries which produce them, and travel around the atmosphere, affecting even countries which did not produce them. This means that people in other countries; farmers in the countries near the United States, for example, will have to deal with the erratic weather brought about by weather phenomena like El Nino and La Nina, although they were not responsible for the emissions.

Furthermore, the Kyoto Protocol, while having legally binding consequences for its member countries, is not an obligation. As in, countries are not required to sign the agreement, and one of the major issues is that the United States of America, one of the largest greenhouse gas producers, is not bound by any of the tenets of the Kyoto Protocol, meaning that with regards to the US, the Kyoto Protocol is useless.

President Bush of the US “has indicated that he does not intend to submit the treaty for ratification, not because he does not support the Kyoto principles, but because of the exemption granted to China (now the world’s largest gross emitter of carbon dioxide, although emission is very low per capita^[73]). Bush also opposes the treaty because of the strain he believes the treaty would put on the economy; he emphasizes the uncertainties which he believes are present in the climate change issue.^{[citation needed]} “ (wikipedia). This is a clear indication of the conflict between economic and environmental goals which countries face, highlighting how difficult it is for countries to choose between either of the two, and how difficult it is for a balance to be found which benefits the people.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyoto_Protocol

Leave a Response »

 

Technology and energy Monday, Nov 10 2008

With the rapid advancement which technology is going through, many schools in Singapore have begun introducing related subjects or activities to better equip their students. Some have instituted programmes which require students to purchase tablet personal computers in order to benefit from the special e-learning weeks or what not they have devised. This requirement places stress on students, especially those from lower-income families, as they might not have the means to purchase these laptops or tablet PCs, which can often be expensive.

This leads back to a point brought up in lecture which is that of the inequality which occurs as a result of some not being able to get access to certain technology, such as the internet. As such technology is tied up with information; the sending and receiving of it, the implications of not having access to technology are not having access to information. As the global economy now relies heavily on the ability to transmit information across borders remotely, without the need for face-to-face interactions, not having the access to this information cripples those it affects. In this way, the large amount of readily available information actually comes at a price, and those who do not have the means to access it are then at a disadvantage.

In addition, technology, as dependent on the social and economic conditions of the country or environment in which its inventors are situated, is most likely not tailor-made for those who it could help. The scientists and engineers in the first world countries develop technologies which will help them and their economies in capital accumulation, these technologies cater for the infrastructure and conditions present in those first world countries, and not the severe lack in third world countries. While technology brings with it many benefits, these come at a cost which might be too high for those in third world countries, who are more concerned with their basic livelihoods.

Leave a Response »

 

Population and health Monday, Nov 10 2008

The Bird Flu is an infectious disease which is similar to SARs, in that it affects victims’ respiratory systems, can be transmitted through close contact through coughing and the breathing in of infected droplets. Its spread was also accelerated greatly by globalisation and the set of conditions which arose.

Although the bird flu has been found in countries as far away from where the disease is thought to have originated, Asia, this could be due to the migration of birds which occurs naturally. However, capital and labour are not the only things which pass through borders more easily with the rise of globalisation; viruses, germs and other disease causing organisms are carried along too. The global economy has created a workspace for many in which they are required to travel frequently, and this, along with the ease and speed with which they travel from country to country contribute to the rapid spread of disease across borders. In addition, the export and import of products such as eggs and frozen poultry also add to the ways in which the disease can be spread. One measure the Singapore government took was to prohibit the import of all poultry products from affected countries, like Indonesia. Governments all over the world also run tests on migratory birds periodically, and those with bird-farming industries have often had to make the difficult choice to cull as many as tens of thousands of chickens and ducks in a bid to prevent the disease from gaining a foothold in their country.

How bird flu managed to jump the species gap between birds and humans is probably through the same means the SARS virus did. Farmers, especially in poor rural areas, live in close proximity to their poultry, which they keep for eggs or meat. The virus is thus given an opportunity to cross over. The lack of proper sanitation due to their poverty is also a contributing factor.

While the bird flu has not resulted in a concerted world-wide effort like SARS, at least 17 governments are working on vaccines to help control the disease. The World Health Organisation has also taken note of the disease, and a statement on their website is as follows: “WHO is coordinating the global response to human cases of H5N1 avian influenza and monitoring the corresponding threat of an influenza pandemic”. They also provide up to date information on the disease, as well as precautions the public may take to protect themselves.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H5N1

http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/en/

Leave a Response »

 

Urbanisation Monday, Nov 10 2008

As cities around the world and across both spheres of developed and developing nations grow increasingly larger, more and more problems surface. For example, as suburbs develop further away from the city centre, people’s workplaces, homes, and places of leisure grow further and further apart. This results in a requirement for a means to travel from place to place, and this was how the proliferation of the automobile developed. In Singapore, just 40 years ago there were very few cars driving about, but in those 40 years of economic progress, and an increase in consumerism brought about by the free-market policies, many have become affluent enough to purchase cars. In recent years, this explosion in the number of cars driving on the roads in Singapore has brought about traffic congestion, even at odd hours at which it would not be expected. This has brought about inconvenience to drivers, and commuters on public transport. Now, if the primary reason for buying a car and driving to work/play/school is the convenience it provides, then it seems that it serves a counter-purpose instead.

The government is now trying to correct this flood of cars with several policies. Firstly, the Certificate of Entitlement scheme, in which these certificates are required for anyone looking to buy a car. A limited number of these are released each time, as an attempt to restrict the number of new cars being bought. However, the government places more emphasis on the second scheme, the Electronic Road Pricing Scheme, which charges people for their use of certain roads. Initially, this system was restricted to the Central Business District, but increasingly, more and more gantries have been set up and cover even the use of expressways out of the city centre, at absurd hours. The government’s rationale for this is that they want to encourage a free-market, which means they want to lessen he government intervention especially with regards to public spending, in particular spending on cars. By only making it more costly for people to drive, and not just own cars, they hope to discourage people from driving. This develops an increasing need for an efficient means to transport these people to and fro. In Singapore, there are three major public transport systems, the buses, the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT), and the Light Rail Transit (LRT). The transport network is run largely by SMRT and SBStransit, which are private companies. This has brought about some controversy about fare hikes, and whether they really needed to increase fares to cover costs, when figures showed that they had been making large profits. Another issue facing Singapore is the impossibility of ERP to correct the traffic congestion, as the traffic situation has not improved drastically with the implementation of numerous gantries all over the island, and the increase in charges. The government will have to come up with alternative means, instead of just sticking to their free-market agenda and increasing charges all over, without really tackling the problem.

Leave a Response »

 

Globalised Identity – Merlion: Invented. Identity: Constructed. Monday, Nov 10 2008

<!– /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:”Cambria Math”; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:”Malgun Gothic”; panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:129; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:auto; mso-font-signature:0 0 0 0 0 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:”\@Malgun Gothic”; panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:129; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:auto; mso-font-signature:0 0 0 0 0 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:”"; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:”Calibri”,”sans-serif”; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:”Malgun Gothic”; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; mso-ansi-language:EN-GB;} p.MsoNoSpacing, li.MsoNoSpacing, div.MsoNoSpacing {mso-style-priority:1; mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:”"; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:”Calibri”,”sans-serif”; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:”Malgun Gothic”; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; mso-ansi-language:EN-GB;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:”Malgun Gothic”; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} .MsoPapDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; margin-bottom:10.0pt; line-height:115%;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} –>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:”Table Normal”;
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:”";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0in;
mso-para-margin-right:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0in;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:”Calibri”,”sans-serif”;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}

In the Straits Times last week, there was an article about the shortlisted entries for the Singapore Literature Prize. The article mentioned a controversy arising from the fact that one of the shortlisted entries was written by a man who was a retired Singapore Airlines pilot, but was often regarded as a Sri Lankan writer. The question posed was, how could he be eligible for the Singapore Literature Prize if he wasn’t Singaporean? The bigger issue behind this problem, however, is what defines Singaporean? Is it someone who was born in Singapore, someone whose family’s here, someone who holds a Singapore passport? Then what about those who grew up here but have since migrated overseas, or those who were from other countries but have made Singapore their home? These questions illustrate clearly how complex identities are through how difficult it is to classify people according to just this one criterion of their nationality.

The problem with this difficulty is that our definitions of nation-states by their geography are arbitrary, and often have little meaning to the people who live on the land. For instance, the people of North Korea and South Korea probably see themselves as one people, speaking one language, having the same ancestors, and until last century, citizens of the same nation. However, we have to note that these, again, are just some criteria which contribute to their identities, and that perhaps they identify more with others, such as the ideologies they are subject to than those which I mentioned. In this case, what’s stopping those who are born in Singapore from leaving, which is the worry of many of Singapore’s leaders, who mention “stayers” and “quitters” during National Day Rallies?

One way in which the Singapore government has tried to solve this problem, apart from the side benefit of having greater control over the populace, is by implementing a shared identity in the country. As mentioned in lecture, this is known as “legitimising identity”, is a shared identity for people of the same nation-state although they might be different, and is meant to create a sense of belonging and cohesion in society. Some examples of how this identity is inculcated are how students must learn about the history of Singapore, especially the nation-state’s struggle to survive, how all male citizens must serve National Service, the National Anthem, Pledge, and Flag, etc.

The Singapore government has also been trying to create an identity for Singapore, one in relation to the outside world, a brand which labels us as “uniquely Singapore”, a main thrust of which involves amassing as many “iconic” buildings, events, and so on as possible. An invention by the Singapore Tourism Board, the merlion can certainly be counted as unique. It also serves to highlight that identity is really only a social construct, parts of which can even be invented to serve a specific goal.

Leave a Response »

 

Democracy and Human Rights Monday, Nov 10 2008

<!– /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:”Cambria Math”; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:”Malgun Gothic”; panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:129; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:auto; mso-font-signature:0 0 0 0 0 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:”\@Malgun Gothic”; panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:129; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:auto; mso-font-signature:0 0 0 0 0 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:”"; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:”Calibri”,”sans-serif”; mso-fareast-font-family:”Malgun Gothic”; mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-ansi-language:EN-GB;} p.MsoNoSpacing, li.MsoNoSpacing, div.MsoNoSpacing {mso-style-priority:1; mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:”"; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:”Calibri”,”sans-serif”; mso-fareast-font-family:”Malgun Gothic”; mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-ansi-language:EN-GB;} span.apple-style-span {mso-style-name:apple-style-span; mso-style-unhide:no;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:”Malgun Gothic”; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} –>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:”Table Normal”;
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:”";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:”Calibri”,”sans-serif”;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:”Malgun Gothic”;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”;
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
One of the more recent upheavals in regional politics is the ouster of former Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej earlier this month, after being convicted of breaking “conflict of interest rules by hosting TV cooking shows while in office”(Thailand Tonight). This follows months of unrest and violent protests by the People’s Alliance for Democracy calling for Samak to step down. The PAD called Samak a puppet for the exiled former Prime Minister, Thaksin. The irony of this is that Samak had been himself elected by the people, in an election that took place in January this year, albeit not necessarily by those who protested against him in recent months.

The assumption here is that the PAD thinks Samak is a hindrance to democracy, or at least that the government he heads is not a democratic one, seeing as how they call themselves the People’s Alliance for Democracy. If democracy was based on the criteria that leaders are selected by popular vote, which gives them the political legitimacy, then Samak’s office would seem to be legitimate. However, if he had been the only candidate, or if the people had certain incentives to vote for him, or disincentives to vote for others, then it would be different. This was not the case, though, with Samak’s party actually failing to win an outright majority in earlier elections.

If “people power” is used in situations where change is brought about by popular action, and if it is one of the hallmarks of democracy, then Samak’s party seems to be supporting that notion, being called the People Power Party. If they do their job and run the country well, is it democratic that the people can overthrow them because they seem like remnants of a previous party, in view of the social contract between ruler and ruled? Do the people of Thailand, or the people in the PAD, possess the right to demonstrate however they like, or demand the removal of any leader who does not fit into their standards, when it was they who elected him, and entered into a contract with him when they did? Is saying otherwise a contravention of human rights?

Works cited: http://thailandtonight.blogspot.com/2008/09/timeline-thailands-long-running.html

Leave a Response »

 

War and Violence Saturday, Sep 20 2008

An article titled “Muslim rebel attacks revive feared Christian vigilantes” in the Straits Times reports that a group made up of mostly Christian farmers on the Philippines island of Mindanao have armed themselves in a bid to “defend villages from the MILF [Moro Islamic Liberation Front]”, calling themselves the “Ilaga”. Turk provides a definition of terrorism, that it is “the deliberate targeting of…victims whose deaths and injuries are expected to weaken the opponent’s will to persist in a political conflict” (273). The sort of violence mentioned in the article could almost be called terrorism, as the original Christian vigilante group “committed atrocities against civilians” in Muslim communities in response to similar attacks on their own communities by the Muslims.

Three possible causes of this violence can be found, the first being a tit-for-tat response to the “rampage by Muslim rebels last month against Christian villages”. It is a possibly vindictive reaction, fuelled by the desire to avenge lost fellow Christians or loved ones. The second cause could be the “nationalism” mentioned in lecture last week, except that in this case, they have a common denominator of religion and are part of small, close-knit communities, which makes the bonds even stronger then those within a nation-state, providing the opportunity for violent feelings of “nationalism” to arise. I think that the last possible factor is a reaction to the sentiment which some have, that of the “state’s failure to make Mindanao safe”. They feel that they have to take matters into their own hands, which is essentially what a vigilante group does, being made up of normal citizens who take the law into their own hands, to protect their families, religion, and way of life. This runs parallel to the theory in Turk’s article, in which people “learn to accept…terrorism as a political option when their experiences lead them to see truth in messages that defending their way and kind cannot be accomplished by nonviolent means” (278). In this case, the means can be very violent indeed, with threats made “to execute 10 Muslim rebels for every slain Christian civilian”.

Apparently, the weapon of choice for these vigilantes is the automatic machine gun, with a Mr. Mike Santiago, ringleader of the current Ilaga movement, being described as toting an old M-16 rifle. This brings to mind the issue of arms trading; where these weapons came from, and how the group got the resources to pay for them. According to Sernau, small arms such as the M-16 rifle are easy to procure, and are “deadly against…civilians and bystanders of all types” (157).

The relative ease with which small arms can be obtained to arm vigilante groups with a violent agenda is definitely worrying, in lieu of the bigger national issue that faces the island of Mindanao, a “separatist rebellion” which might result in it becoming a sovereign nation-state apart from the Philippines. With reference to what was mentioned in the lecture about many wars starting after independence, and with the proliferation of civilian militia groups, the Philippines may be facing a crisis.

 

 

References:

Sernau, Scott. Global Problems; The Search for Equity, Peace, and Sustainability. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc., 2006.

 

“Muslim rebel attacks revive feared Christian vigilantes”. The Straits Times. 13 September 2008. Pg C13.

 

Turk, A. T. Sociology of Terrorism. Annual Review of Sociology, 2004.

 

 

 

Leave a Response »

 

Crime – mixed causes? Wednesday, Sep 10 2008

Learning about crime this week served as a summation of the previous few weeks, demonstrating how the social problems discussed before are linked and how they work together to create seemingly inescapable situations for people which, according to some sociologists, drives them to violence towards others – crime.

Globalization, industrialization, modernization, urbanization, leading to economic inequity discussed in the second lesson, the radical change of industries leading to worse conditions for workers and an increase in immigrant worker numbers in the third lesson, in addition to the need for workers to work longer hours, which is in turn linked to the fourth lesson in which women are the preferred workers in some industries needing to work longer hours, leading to emasculated men who feel dissatisfied and frustrated. According to the lecture on crime, these are all possible contributing factors to crime, along with the creation of new “urban spaces” which provide an environment in which crime can take place more easily.

Globalization and increased connectivity by way of technological improvements in communications like international phone calls and the internet have made it possible for crimes to be planned, orchestrated and committed from overseas. An example of this would be the phishing emails that many receive as “junk”, with sensational subject headings, usually containing the words “lottery”, “trust fund”, and other words implying a potential windfall for the recipient of the email. These often reflect foreign senders, whether because of the assumption that people will be more trusting of what they perceive to be a European name, especially one that brings connotations of wealth, such as “Diana” instead of “Joe”. Some common scams also originate in countries from the African continent, such as Nigeria. Such correspondence usually goes along the lines of the recipient having won the lottery, or the sender’s family member who has a large trust fund passing away, or a great investment opportunity, all requiring the depositing of an often large sum of money before any gains can be made on the recipient’s part. In this way, many unsuspecting victims have been made.

Kidnapping scams have also been carried out in Singapore, allowed by circumstances created by some of the same things mentioned above. For example, the “physical separation between home, work, and pleasure” mentioned by Prof. Sulfikar, with parents being physically distant from their children and not knowing their exact whereabouts, leaving them more vulnerable to believing their children have been kidnapped for ransom.

Leave a Response »

 

Women and the family – Domestic workers Wednesday, Sep 10 2008

Women and the Family – case study of Filipino Domestic Helpers

A phenomenon that has been observed in recent years is the large influx of Filipino domestic workers into Hong Kong, “an example of globalization in the personal service sector” according to thefilipinomind.blogspot.com. During the four year period of 1990 to 1994, 121000 Filipino domestic workers entered Hong Kong (Ozeki, 1997, quoted in thefilipinomind.blogspot.com). Studies are often focused on the effects this large influx has on local society, or perhaps the identification on the social conditions which result in the need for these workers. This concern for the possible adverse effects of having large numbers of foreigners living and working in the homes of citizens is not undue, but local governments give little, if any, consideration to the domestic workers themselves, the reason for their migration, and the effects it has on them, as well as their families.

Some domestic helpers choose to work in Hong Kong in order to provide more adequately for their families. Many of them have domestic problems of their own, like frustrated husbands who are unable to find employment. The role of breadwinner then falls onto these ladies who are in demand as domestic helpers overseas. I have heard that in the Philippines, even a university degree is not sufficient to garner one a job, with many individuals competing for a limited number of jobs. For example, the domestic helper who works with my family, Auntie Delia, has a 20 year old son with a degree in Mass Communications, and he cannot find a job even working at JolliBee, a fastfood chain in the Philippines. She had to come to Singapore to work as she had too support her mother and her twoo children after she left her abusive husband who was also unemployed. As many individuals play many roles, so do these domestic workers. They may be daughters, mothers, wives, and perhaps all at the same time. The physical distance separating them from their families poses very real problems to their fulfilling their roles, and also to receiving what people look towards families for. Firstly, while they may be earning a higher salary than in the Philippines, enabling them to provide better for their families, their families are unable to lead typical lives, missing a member. They are unable to carry out the role of caretaker to their children, unable to watch them grow and impart values and in essence, provide a means of socialisation. Their children grow up without a parent, or without any parent, living instead with relatives. Such children are susceptible to peer pressure and problems in school, estranged relationships with their mothers and so on. This trend of “single-parenting”, especially if the children or youth are being cared for by elderly relatives, results in problems for the society.

Leave a Response »

 

Work and Trade – power imbalances Sunday, Aug 31 2008

The trend of outsourcing, whether in the manufacturing of goods or provision of services, is increasingly prevalent in today’s globalized, technology dependent world. It is made possible by the links formed between countries and technological advances which allow easy transport of raw materials and finished products, as well as the emergence of new services related to the internet and long-distance phone calls which allow for distance service-provision. In addition, the formation of Multi-National Corporations (MNCs) with offices and operations in many different countries at once has added a degree of synergy to the way these goods and services are handled, from the hiring and training of workers, to the procurement and processing of raw materials, to the packaging, marketing, and delivery. As these huge companies expand or plan expansion into ever more markets, their main goal is profit maximization, and they achieve this by pushing down cost by pressuring for Free Trade Agreements to be signed, by buying raw materials at very low prices and so on. Their sheer size provides them with great bargaining power which they use to pressure the relevant parties into acquiescing to their demands. As they reap the benefits that come with the signing of more Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) which allow them to tap into new markets without paying high tariffs and import duties, we expect the trickle-down effect theorized by Adam Smith to come into effect, as these MNCs hire workers in their offices and plants in various parts of the world. In theory, the profits which the MNCs earn place them in a position to offer higher wages and more comprehensive benefits to their workers, who would in turn be able to afford a higher standard of living, purchasing more consumer goods, driving up demand for these goods, and supply of these goods would likewise increase to meet the increase in demand. This increase in supply would require the suppliers of these consumer goods to hire more workers and obtain more raw materials, which would create a cycle known as the multiplier effect that would contribute to a country’s economic growth. However, this does not happen in reality. MNCs use their profits to raise salaries of their top brass, increase their capital, purchase new assets and so on, pursuing capital accumulation, which is their top priority.

The relationships which we learnt about in the poverty chapter are also present here, with those in positions of power and holding capital being able to manipulate circumstances, markets, and politics to gain the most out of interactions with various parties.

Leave a Response »