Saturday, July 29, 2006

A New World Order






Photo provided by www.DownTheRoad.org the Ongoing Global Bicycle Touring Adventure


In this age of globalization and increased competition from foreign entities, our economy finds itself in a bit of a conundrum. One of the surest signs of a robust economy is the willingness and ability of companies to offer their employees benefits at what I will call the societal level. These types of benefits, pension plans, retirement, stock options, and health care are the types of things that make jobs worth the while. These benefits represent long term security for the worker and display the true magnitude of a particular corporation's economic clout.

The problem is that U.S. companies have been facing increased competition from foreign companies that can pay their workers much lower wages and offer little to no benefits. We are a rich country and, therefore, our people expect a certain amount of wealth from their jobs. Poorer people may be perfectly willing to accept their low wages that at least provide a little bit of food and material substance. The fact is, Americans don't want to give up their wealth, but companies are continually forcing them to in the name of competitiveness.

I see this phenomenon as a trend of global redistribution of wealth that will spread the limited amount of material well-being in existence more evenly around the globe. If it continues it will materially harm the average American. There will be less wealth to go around in this country. However, the upshot to this, at least on a grand scale, might be more prosperity in the rest of the world, alleviating many of the problems associated with poverty cycles, including the mass discontent caused by the anguish of living in poverty. In short, the redistribution of wealth around the globe, that results in a more even distribution of wealth and power might result in a more stable and, ultimately, peaceful world society.

The problem is that here in America, nobody wants to lose their way of life, nor should they. All productive members of society spend vast portion of their lives seeking material goods and the expected sense of well-being associated with their accumulation. That is one of the founding principles of our society and has been built into the very framework of our government, economy, and even our very lives. Proponents of globalization and worldwide free markets cite the need for new sources of labor, raw materials, and capitol in order to sustain the American way of life- and these people are not wrong. However, the expansion of our economy into a global one comes at a price and we, as Americans, must ask ourselves whether we are willing to pay it.