p2pnet - rss feed: AllofMP3 and globalization
p2pnet.net News:- I recently saw a story on Slashdot that might interest the file-sharing community. The story is entitled, “RIAA Goes for the Max Against AllofMP3″
Not only is the RIAA fighting mad over people sharing music, it’s also furious over AllofMP3.com for selling music at reasonable rates.
It’s amazing that when it comes to US companies sending US jobs overseas, they extol the savings reaped by outsourcing. These savings occur because it’s legal in foreign jurisdictions to treat employees much more badly than in the US. In many of these countries, dissent and unions are illegal. In many of these same countries it’s legal for companies to pay starvation wages and disregard worker safety.
American workers for years have been complaining about how this globalization has negatively impacted their lives, yet the US government refuses to protect the American worker.
Now, the shoe is on the other foot. AllofMP3.com is operating (right now, at least) legally in Russia. Their production costs are very low. They only have to pay a small percentage of their revenue to the Russian counterpart of the RIAA. This time, the beneficiaries of global outsourcing are the American people.
A double standard clearly shines through when average people look to take advantage of globalization. While the US government and major corporations are more than happy to see globalization benefit themselves at the expense of the American worker, they clearly have a much different view when the American people benefits at the expense of the major corporations. This double standard can not only be seen in the entertainment and software industries, but it can also be seen in the pharmaceutical industry as well. Big drug makers got very upset in recent years because American people were importing and re-importing drugs from other countries in order to be able to afford their medicines.
If globalization is to benefit all of mankind instead of just the wealthiest top one percent, each and every person should be allowed to freely decide on where they purchase their goods, where they choose to live, and where they choose to work.
Our manufacturers may choose to freely export jobs to countries such as China and Mexico because labor is extremely cheap, but Chinese and Mexican people are not able to freely move to and legally work in the US. We’re also not able to freely move to, and legally work in, Mexico and China.
If the free movement of people across international borders was allowed unabated, then I could see where globalization could serve all of mankind. When employers and governments in one country got too heavy handed, then people could literally vote with their feet and move to countries where their prospects would be much brighter.
Repressive governments would lose the people that keeps them afloat if this kind of migration was allowed globally. If companies charged too much for their products and services, customers could select other companies to provide these products even if these other companies are located in other nations. If companies in a particular nation paid their workers too little, then these workers could move to other countries where wages are better. Globalization will benefit most people only if the double standards are completely removed.
However, these double standards are not likely to removed from global trade unless people of all nations force governments and companies to do so.
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