Losing Power of Successful Economic Justice Models - Essay Example

Losing of Power of Successful Economic Justice Models The reasons for losing power of successful economic justice models are many and the research paper is aimed towards identifying those reasons taking example of the Fair Trade Coffee case. For identifying the reason of this fair trade’s losing of power, it is required to find the answer to certain key questions. These are as follows: What are the actual benefits that are achievable from the movements of Fair Trade? Are the advantages of fair trade movement sustainable? Are the advantages liable to encompass a high mass of growers and communities on a worldwide basis? The assignment of deriving answers to these questions is although a long term task, there is also necessity of accomplishing this assignment as soon as possible. Considering the urgency, this paper has been prepared and presented as a move towards finding answers to the above mentioned questions. The barriers to the effective implementation of the fair trade movements all the time act as the reason of the power loss of the entire system. Considering in-depth review of the case of fair trade coffee, it has been observed that the biggest challenge being faced by the fair trade movement is when it does not allow the grower co-operatives to negotiate prices for coffee with the importers from foreign countries when at the same time, the world prices are at high level. The consequence of the situation is that the co-operatives ultimately have to buy coffee at higher prices from the farmers and they are bound to sell the same coffee at lower prices to the importers of the foreign countries (Jeff, 2011). Another major challenge of the fair trade movement as identified from the Fair Trade coffee case is that of the lack of knowledge being preserved by the producers of coffee. The reason of the lesser knowledge among producers is primarily the co-operatives’ organization and processes. The producers possess almost zero or minimal knowledge about the fair trade movements because they seldom receive any training from the representatives of the Fair Trade. In certain cases, the producers themselves are the catalysts who worsen the situation of lesser information. This happens through their reluctance towards attending assemblies of the co-operatives and other similar events. As the market of coffee is cyclical, the prices of this commodity fluctuate greatly. With the growth in the rates of conventional coffee, the obligations towards the channels of Fair Trade deteriorate. The Fair Trade Coffee depicts that with this scenario in concern, the producers fail to operate effectively because the difference between the prices cited by the co-operatives and that prevailing in the market decreases (Murray, Raynolds, & Taylor, 2003). The reasons for the losing of power of the successful economic justice models are also due to the facts that prove the models’ ineffectiveness in their operations. The experts have criticized the models’ operations recently with the evidence that a few members of the Fair Trade movement are dispatching their intensions of having large corporations or the companies as the members of the movement. It has also been claimed by the critics that there are even certain companies which have received special facilities from the various agencies. With this evidence, the justice models such as that of the FLO and Fair Trade was enquired of providing unequal treatment to their members and as a consequence they all remained unanswered (Munoz, 2011). The mission of the Fair Trade USA and FLO which is to provide empowerment to both the farmers and the workers across the world through eradicating their poverty has also been criticized by the critics and this can be another probable reason for the loss of power of the economic justice model (Haight, 2011). The criticism has been against the models’ proclamation that it aims to eradicate farmers’ poverty. The creation of the Fair Trade movement along with several other standards of certification has been with respect to the doctrines in the International Coffee Agreement (ICA). The essential task of the ICA is to fix prices through matching up of the prevailing coffee demand and supply with the aim of sustaining stability in the prices and thus add value to the development of the economy. However, critics have claimed that in spite of operation of the ICA for more than twenty years till now, it has not been able to balance the demand and supply of coffee. Moreover, there has always remained imbalance between the supply and demand of coffee forcing the coffee prices to fluctuate frequently (Davidson & Wilson, 2008). The above claim of the critics towards the failure of the ICA to maintain the most appropriate balance between demand and supply of coffee can be further supported through another material demonstrating the imbalanced situation over the past few years. The past Director of the “Fair Trade Mark in Canada” provided the affirmation during the year 1995 that although the producers of coffee had a capacity of producing 250,000 MT; the demand for coffee had prevailed for merely 11,000 MT. It was also being estimated by the FLO during the year 2002 that the amount of supply of coffee in Asia, Latin America and Africa was more than its demand by seven folds. These types of failure from the ICA are a major contributor to the losing of power from the economic justice models (Weber, 2007). Another disadvantage of the Fair Trade movement is related to the operational inefficiency of the coffee growers. The aim of the Fair Trade towards provision of “fair wages” to the producers in the third world countries is thus criticized by the critics. This has been done on the grounds that a “fair wage” associated with the plantation of coffee per unit and also the average unit labor cost compositely depict double amount than the price which is received for a single packet of coffee beans. These facts signify that Fair Trade movement is not at all the best solution that the justice models can provide for the betterment of the third world countries. Along with this, the Fair Trade movement is also not the best possible measure essential for implementing the economical reforms which are predominantly aimed towards the maximization of the advantages to be derived from an economy. Apart from explaining the losing power of the economic justice models with respect to the Fair Trade Coffee case, its losing power can also be represented from the fact that each year huge amount of foods are damaged with the aim of keeping the food prices unnaturally high. This can be considered as an unethical practice which is primarily being boosted due to the Fair Trade movement (Cambridge University Conservative Association, 2007). References Cambridge University Conservative Association. (2007). The Problem of Fair Trade. Retrieved June 23, 2011 from http://www.cuca.org.uk/2007/11/05/the-problem-of-fair-trade/ Davidson, S., & Wilson, T. (2008). New evidence of old concerns: Fair trade myths exposed ... Again. Retrieved June 23, 2011 from http://www.ipa.org.au/library/publication/1210829450_document_new_evidence_of_old_concerns_fair_trade_mythe_exposed_again.pdf Haight, C. (2011). The Problem with the Fair Trade Coffee. Stanford Social Innovation Review. Jeff. (2011). Peru Fair Trade Coffee Leader Explains Challenges of FLO “Fair Trade Certified” System. Retrieved June 23, 2011 from http://www.fairtraderesource.org/2011/04/21/peru-fair-trade-coffee-leader-explains-challenges-of-flo-%E2%80%9Cfair-trade-certified%E2%80%9D-system/ Murray, D., Raynolds, L. T., & Taylor, P. L. (2003). One Cup At A Time: Poverty Alleviation And Fair Trade Coffee In Latin America. Retrieved June 23, 2011 from http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/environment/compliance/ane/workshops/Jordan2007/day3/S/FairTradeandPovertyReductionStudy.pdf Munoz, S. (2011). Problems of Fair Trade Certification. Retrieved June 23, 2011 from http://www.fairtradeshoes.org/problems-of-fair-trade-certification/ Weber, J. (2007). Fair Trade Coffee Enthusiasts Should Confront Reality. Retrieved June 23, 2011 from http://www.cato.org/pubs/journal/cj27n1/cj27n1-9.pdf Read More