It's all about the Benjamins! (Blog # 20)

This chapter was frustrating to me because it highlights one of, in my opinions, the worst side effects of capitalism, the pursuit of money at all costs. The chapter explains “reglobalization” in a post-WWII world; with the United States becoming the leader in the world capitalism quickly spread across the world. Reglobalization was characterized by the “the accelerating circulation of goods, capital, and people”, and it had many pros and cons. Some of the pros include, “life expectancies expanded almost everywhere, infant mortality declined, and literacy increased” (Strayer, 789). Unfortunately it also came with many cons, the worst in my opinion is the greed for more capital even at the expense of others. This greed is most demonstrated in the practice of “foreign direct investment” in which a company in one country sets up factories in another country to take advantage of cheaper resources and labor. “Rich countries sought to take advantage of cheap labor, tax breaks, and looser environmental regulations in developing countries” (Strayer, 786). The spread of capitalism led to a new type of domination and control over underdeveloped countries and furthered the gap between the rich and the poor; this had many considering the United States an “informal empire”. It is my belief that the practice of “foreign direct investment” is an immoral act that not only hurts vulnerable people in lesser developed countries, the environment and in return the country that is sending their factories to other countries. For example the United States has become too reliant on other countries for goods and resources with the majority of our goods being imported from other countries. Capitalism has the power to be a good system if it was combined with a sense of morality so that people and the environment wouldn’t suffer in the name of financial gain; money is not more valuable than life, not even money.