A movement not for justice, but absolution

Do working conditions in Third World countries make your blood boil? Is the thought that innocent people are born into a system of pure exploitation intolerable to you? Do you cringe when you think of a place where the only value someone provides, and is recognized for providing, is his fixed rate of production capability? If you answered yes, then you should support movements to reform conditions in Third world factories, right? The environment has become blase; urban ghettos are old news; Third World working conditions are the hot new thing on the radar screen of people who protest for a living. Their ranting and raving in places like Seattle and Sydney has disseminated down the ranks and inspired new generations of anti-establishment protests. Penn provides us with insight into how these movements persist and evolve. The campus has seen a growing movement to reform our own local supply chain, as many students find it unacceptable that school-logo apparel is made in factories that don't adhere to specific compensation levels and working conditions. Students have held rallies, petitioned the administration for policy changes and brought alternative vendors to the immediate market. Activist groups have also demanded that we employ particular watchdog groups to monitor factory conditions. However, efforts to change the working conditions in the developing world are different than a Sally Struthers plea to help the helpless subsist. Instead of aid, we're talking about changing the underpinnings of systems. We are tinkering with the economics of nation-states that do not have the same credos that protect and value individuals -- both the written and unwritten rules that have defined our own homegrown and erratic mix between capitalism and respect for the people. We are Westerners pressing other people and nations. These protests are less about changing a system and more about making a statement about a subtly guilty American conscience that does not and will not find the will to reform itself. That is what, in part, drives our protests here. Protesters should then take the high ground and try to stamp a scarlet letter onto all Americans, both a hefty and a haughty task. Let's face it -- American consumer wealth is built on the backs of labor pools that make up the "other part" of the world; exactly what people detest capitalism, liberal policy, a global economy and the world's largest consuming nation are hardly brazen with a strong sense of the human factor, an intuitive sense of intrinsic morals. Get me straight: I'm no fan of poor labor conditions. But as college kids, we are at an age where idealism is endearing and realism is in poor taste. It is too easy for us to become enchanted with our own moral fervor and lose sight of what we are actually doing. We should really examine the problem before rushing out and running around like a bunch of Ivy League brats. Let's put our minds to use here and back away from deconstructive protesting and really examine what is a very contemporary, relevant problem that begs to be analyzed and articulated from a more complete perspective. If we don't, we might end up damaging the very people we are trying to help. If we inadvertently raise the price of sweatshirts through changes in policy prompted by student demands, then fewer products will ultimately be sold. That will most likely result in workers' losing their jobs and their ability to survive. Unlike in America, there is no unemployment office down the street for those once mistreated workers to check into, nor any severance packages. The big problem with protesting is, unless those walking the pickets can put forth a feasible alternative plan, it provides little real value. Instead of haranguing the administration about short-term, self-centered solutions, activists need to provide realistic alternative methods of production. Perhaps Penn should set up an innovative program or center focused on examining the interaction between economics and values in a global environment. Most importantly, students should encourage the administration to build avenues for pragmatic solutions or commentary; that is where the real depth lies. But the issues entangled here are the result of an increasing global transparency that is quickly shrinking in size. Quixotic Westerners are now dealing with a complex set of values challenged by capitalism, a system whose underbelly is now becoming fully exposed.

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