Economic Debate- Sweatshops

For our last economic debate, we are going to discuss sweatshops and the idea of “exploiting the poor in other countries.”

Microeconomics largely deals with the study of how individuals make choices and what impacts those choices have, so use that knowledge to think about the debate on eliminating sweat shops and not trading with any country or overseas business that uses child labor.

Advocates of these laws often argue that the richest country on Earth, the United States, should not pay such low labor rates to citizens from other countries because it only exploits the poor and their resources. We often see this thinking in arguments for those refusing to use/purchase from Amazon, Apple, Nike, and many other brands. The idea is that if we stop buying from these companies, they will realize they should use fairer practices when dealing with international employees.

Opponents argue that sweatshops are not inherently evil, and in many cases, are great alternatives to what citizens in those countries would have otherwise been able to choose. The most common example is the young boy who would have most certainly had to join the local militia for wages can now work in a factory for the same he would have earned risking his life. Or the young lady who may have been forced into unimaginable circumstances can now earn a decent income without much hardship. A central tenet of this thinking is that Americans often misunderstand how “low wages” has a completely different meaning in various parts of the world.

I’ve attached a few resources to give you deeper insight to the debate on sweat shops and child labor. Be sure to check out the videos embedded in the articles/websites below. Also, you are not bound to the resource I have provided. If you do your own research, that is fine as long as you are using reputable sources.

Using your understanding of economics, answer the question:

Do you think sweat shops and child labor should be avoided when Americans make purchasing decisions? Should we implement laws requiring American companies to “do better” overseas?