Chapters 20, 21, & TAL

    Chapter 20 talks about how rapid manufacturing growth in China, especially in Shenzhen, completely reshaped the city and the lives of the people who moved there. The population grew almost a hundred times larger in just a few decades, which is honestly hard to picture when comparing it to cities here in the United States. That kind of growth doesn’t just happen randomly. It started when China loosened many labor regulations and controls in order to attract foreign investors and manufacturers. By removing certain restrictions, they made it easier and cheaper for global companies to set up factories there. From an economic standpoint, this clearly worked. The city grew quickly, foreign capital poured in, and China strengthened its position in the global manufacturing market.
    However, that growth did not benefit everyone equally. While investors and business owners profited heavily, factory workers often paid the price. Long hours, low wages, and unsafe working conditions became normal for many of the people employed in these factories. It looked like progress from the outside, but for a lot of workers, life was still really difficult. So while some people clearly benefited from the boom, others definitely bore the cost of it. What stood out to me in this chapter was how it didn’t just celebrate economic growth. It forced us to look at the human consequences that come with that kind of rapid development.
    Chapter 21 builds on this idea by explaining global commodity chains and using Nike as a main example. Nike was struggling in the shoe industry and decided to outsource a large portion of its production to Asian countries like Japan, China, and Korea. These countries had fewer labor protections and lower wages compared to the United States, which allowed Nike to produce shoes faster and at a much lower cost. The chapter mentioned how Nike even opened facilities in New Hampshire at one point, but they eventually had to close them because shoes made overseas dominated the market. This really shows how powerful global competition can be.
    Outsourcing labor helped Nike grow because it reduced production expenses and allowed the company to spend more money on branding and marketing. Instead of investing heavily in domestic factories, Nike focused on advertising and building its image. That strategy clearly worked in terms of profit. At the same time, though, workers in manufacturing countries were often left in unstable situations. Once wages began to rise in one country, companies could simply move production somewhere cheaper. This creates a cycle where labor is treated as replaceable. It ties back to what we have been discussing about foreign investment not always benefiting the host country in the long term. In many cases, it mainly benefits the corporations and investors.
    The TAL episode about Cambodia showed a similar pattern but on a smaller national scale. After years of civil war, Cambodia opened its economy to foreign garment investment in hopes of rebuilding. Within about ten years, roughly 250 factories were established. At first, this probably felt like real progress. Jobs were being created, and the country was participating in the global market. However, when their trade agreement with the United States ended in 2005, Cambodia was put in a vulnerable position. Their labor standards were more relaxed than some competing countries, but they still struggled to compete once the agreement ended. Many workers were pushed deeper into poverty.
    One detail that really stuck with me was the woman in the podcast explaining that factory workers could only afford one gram of pork for lunch. That small detail says a lot about how little they were earning. It shows that while globalization may bring factories and investment, it does not automatically bring stable prosperity for workers. Efforts to get the U.S. government to pass legislation to support least developed countries in Asia were unsuccessful, leaving Cambodia largely on its own.
    Across these three examples, there is a clear pattern. Rapid growth and foreign investment can create economic expansion, but the benefits are uneven. Corporations and investors often gain the most, while workers deal with unstable wages and harsh conditions. There’s short-term growth and visible progress, but long-term stability for workers doesn’t seem guaranteed at all.