CLA: Global REM

Introduction

The new phase of global capitalism in the late 20th century has introduced significant changes to the human society. Capital, goods, people and ideas move increasingly fast across national borders, communication and transportation technologies that allow worldwide connections in real time, reconfigured transportation routes, and consumers’ increased access to products and services, are some examples of globalization’s recent transformation of local and global phenomena. Surely the most readily identifiable consequence of global capitalism is the change that exerts on economic structures. Foreign investment transformed local economies, while international corporations reap significant profits. Less obvious, however, is the effect that global capitalism has on individuals operating within such economically macro-economic systems. Most importantly, changes in local economies often force populations to search for job opportunities in other parts of the world. Scholars refer to such economically motivated migration as "economic migration" or "labor migration." Although they are considered voluntary migration, many people who cross borders in search of better opportunities feel they have no choice but to leave their economically destitute homelands. They also do not necessarily involve the poorest of the poor, as international migration requires resources and connections. Since the mid-1980s, economic migration reached a new high point, and it has remained largely constant through the present day. In the contemporary world, economic migration has been especially characteristic of the developing world, where the penetration of international corporations has disrupted local economies. Many of today’s economic migrants seek jobs in developed countries such as the United States, Germany, and Japan.

This is a documentary entitled Uprooted: Refugees of the Global Economy (2001), made by The Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, raises important questions about the impact of global capitalism on individuals decisions in a time when large corporations cross nation-state borders at will. It is based on interviews with immigrants from the Philippines, Bolivia, and Haiti that migrate to the United States. The interviews show how the penetration of global capitalism has forced people to leave their home countries.

Source

Uprooted: Refugees of the Global Economy (National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights with Sasha Khokha, Ulla Nilsen, Jon Fromer, and Francisco Herrera, 28 min, 2001).

Discussion Questions

(1) List the reasons why Maricel (Filipino), Jessy and Jaime (Bolivians), and Luckner (Haitian) left their countries. Point out similarities and differences in their experiences.

(2) In what ways does serving the economic needs of people in advanced industrialized societies cause harm to people in less developed societies? International corporations show how commodities and financial resources move freely across borders. Is it the same for people crossing borders due to seeking better jobs? Do people in search of work enjoy the same freedom to move across national boundaries? Support your answer.

(3) Global capitalism has both positive and negative attributes. List some of each. What do you think can be done in your daily life to minimize the negative attributes of global capitalism? Whose side (i.e. migrants or corporations) does the documentary take? What can we learn from that perspective? What do we miss from it?

Suggested Readings

Burawoy, Michael, et al. 2000. Global Ethnography: Forces, Connections and Imaginations in a Postmodern World. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.

Frieden, Jeffry. 2006. Global Capitalism: Its Fall and Rise in the Twentieth Century. New York: W. W. Norton.

Parreñas, Rhacel Salazar. 2001. Servants of Globalization: Women, Migrants and Domestic Work. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

Sassen, Saskia. 1999. Guests and Aliens. New York: The New Press.