Global Issues: Child Labor in the Sweatshops - Essay Example

The companies must disclose how and where products are made and also the treatment and amounts paid to the workers. The disclosure should also be backed by the independent monitoring of pay and working conditions. Violators of the laws when found should be corrected in ways that protect the workers and their jobs. There are moral and economic implications that come with the decision not to be concerned about sweatshops operating in developing countries because they provide quality clothes.

The moral implication is that human dignity is not upheld. It provides the basis for the obligation of the employer to the employee. Respecting the dignity of workers requires adherence to the laws of labor, meeting safety standards, and provision of a wage. Many aspects of the American lifestyle are attributed to the trade with Asia. Commerce with developing countries like China is crucial to its economic prosperity. Their manufacturing investment in developing countries is in the tens of billions of dollars and they also have plants that they operate on a contract basis.

Hence developing countries help in building up their economy. There are three major types of economic systems-traditional, command, and market. Most of the countries in the world can be identified with one of them. In the traditional economy, the allocation of resources is based on rituals, habits, or customs. The main advantage is that everyone knows which role to play. There is little uncertainty over what to produce, how to produce, or for whom to produce since one follows their customs. The main disadvantage is that it discourages new ideas and new ways of carrying out things.

The command economy is whereby a central authority is responsible for what, how and for whom they should produce products. The main advantage is that the system can drastically change direction in a short period. The main disadvantage is that it is not designed in a way that will meet the wants of the consumers even though most basic needs are met. The third type is the market economy whereby people and firms act in their own best interests to determine what products to produce, how to produce them and for whom.

The main advantage is that the market system can adapt to change over time. It also has a high degree of individual freedom and also there is a fairly small degree of government interference. The decision-making is decentralized, it has a variety of goods and services and customers are highly satisfied. The market economy has the disadvantage of not being able to provide for the basic needs of everyone in society (Siddiqui, 2005). According to Keynes that markets are incapable of regulating themselves and hence government intervention is imperative.

However, Friedman and Hayek suggest that an unfettered market economy is superior to a government or command economic system. Markets can regulate themselves through market forces of supply and demand. Market forces are a result of human action whereby individuals select ends and act to achieve them by adopting a suitable means. Self-regulation might arise as a natural outgrowth from consumer demand. Hence a country’s economy can be self-regulated instead of government regulated.