I was so exhausted by the end of the class, but by the time I got home, I couldn't sleep because there was just too much to think about! The main thing that struck me after reading, watching videos and listening to everyone in class, was that as Hans Rosling said we just need to get this information out in simple, accessible ways. There are so many misconceptions and vague ideas of reality masking truth that it is nearly impossible to discern one thing from another. All I can say is that I am glad I am taking this class to get some concrete clarity that I can share and work from.
The presentation given by Andrea Rios was really great for so many reasons (love Manu Chao!!), especially since I have often questioned the numbers and accusations of undocumented immigrants using social services made in the media and the actual direct impact this has on us. I was not surprised by what the article had to show, and hope that others outside or our class will take the time to read it as well (HealthCareUseAmongUndocumentedLatinoImmigrants.pdf ). All in all, it seems that everything comes back to education, in one form or another, to bring opportunities to those who need/deserve them and to work towards more level playing fields. From the first video on globalization we can see that sweat shops are not necessarily the evil corporation way of exploiting cheap labor but rather an economy builder for those who may not have any other means. In the case of the Nike factories in Taiwan, the workers were thankful for the opportunity to learn a new trade and make money they would never have a dream of earning on a farm. If the activists were successful in closing down those factories, what would happen to those workers? Where else would they start? On the other hand we see the example of Kerala, where things were working out and then globalization introduced relatively unnecessary luxuries that threw off the equilibrium of the economy. So in the end I think we have to come back to education to help enlighten us on where to find a balance.
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3 comments:
hey robyn, great thoughts on your blog so far. i loved the presentation on undocumented immigrants too. it is so interesting that the truth is often confounded by opinions and personal interest. so many myths need to be dispelled (eg, as you mentioned, the surprising salubrious effects of nike sweatshops). good and bad come with every change/development. and i can totally relate to your post-class sentiment--i was exhausted too, but my head was full of all the exciting things we'd talked about.
Hi Robyn,
I agree that the week 2 presentations and discussion gave us plenty of food for thought. I thought quite a bit about the capability approach as discussed by Payam. I like this concept of focusing on capabilty as a method for accessing health-realted quality of life.
I agree with your transitional thinking about globalization being beneficial to societies and not necessarily evil or harmful as some lead us to believe. I do however feel that globalization does seem to benefit the OECD more than other countries so I am still skeptical about its ramifications.
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