Rafaela Creamer, Chapter 12, Question #4

A kind of controversial topic that Wheelan talked about in this chapter was about sweatshops. The labor produced in sweatshops is cheap labor which is considered a comparative advantage in poor countries. People who work in sweatshops aren't forced to work for a dollar or two a day, they choose to work for that much because it is the best option they have. However, this labor and the conditions enforced on its workers makes it controversial to whether or not support the purchase of sweatshop made goods. It doesn't make it any better for us to refuse to buy products that are made in sweatshops, because from cause and effect, this risks harming the people that we're intending to help. As seen in the good intentions gone awry example on page 289. So the solution proposed by a western couple who lived in China, is that "' The simplest way to help poor Asians would be to buy more from sweatshops, not less'"(289). By doing so it would stimulate the economy and produce more jobs, helping the people working in sweatshops.