Response to Chapter 4: "U.S. Business vs. Us: Global Capitalism and Corporate Wilding"

Wilding behaviors are ones that focus on enhancing one’s “wealth and power by harming workers, citizens, and communities” (Derber 55). These behaviors do not exclude those who run sweatshops either. Those who run sweatshops exhibit “predatory behavior” that seem to seek a profit at any price. Greed is the driving force behind these behaviors.

Corporations that run sweatshops have an individualistic outlook on success. This outlook stems from an individualistic political economy. When this self-interest takes over, the cooperation will do anything to maximize their profits, including dehumanizing their workers. Corporations accomplish this by threatening to abandon a certain community unless the workers agree to work for lower wages. The governments in these communities adhere to the threats to even offer the corporations various incentives to keep them at a certain location. These intimidation tactics make it possible and are apart of wilding. Sweatshop owners, like the ones in El Salvador that made clothing for Boston College, knew when they opened up shop and began production that the wages they were offering their workers was substantially low but intimidated and threatened those in community that they would pull out and move their business, costing many members of their community their jobs. This kind of power is given to these corporations and businesses through wilding.

Owners of sweatshops rationalize their wilding tactics and the conditions in which their workers are suppose to work under with the frame of mind that even though their employees work in unhealthy conditions, they are “earning among the highest in the region and if it pain even higher salaries, it would lose business to the rivals paying less” (Derber 63). This type of attitude directly reflects the individualistic and “predatory behavior” of these owners. They do not see their employees as equals but rather as less than human entities within their cooperation. The conditions in which they allow their workers to work in also reflects their dehumanizing view of them. The corporations only see the profits that can be made and neglect to see how their greed is negatively affecting others.

These corporations’ attitudes also reflect upon the values and morals of society. It has been instilled in these owners that wealth and power is the ultimate goal in life and it does not matter how one acquires it. Society values those in power and with a great amount of wealth and disregards how the individual got to that point. Integrity is an obsolete value in the eyes of society.

Accountability is the only way in my eyes to ensure that these injustices do not continue to take place. We can no longer allow these companies to “escape their social responsibilities by hiding behind globalism and using it as an excuse. By holding these companies accountable, Derber states that it would help to create a “democratic model of globalization, centered on respect for human rights…” (66). Derber also states that “building a new world community” would help to hold companies accountable.