Ch. 28,30 NYT Article

 Chapter 28 discusses how nation states are losing their authority to the market. Government intervention in people’s daily lives is increasing, while more and more societies want their own nation state. Tech is creating major changes previously unseen, and politics is becoming a common activity practiced by people other than just politicians. I can definitely say that my entire life seems to be surrounded by political conversations — it’s almost entirely unavoidable. Although, I feel like people have more power than ever in politics as well. Something I see a lot is activism that follows the saying, “put your money where your mouth is.” Boycotting brands that support political endeavors you disagree with and focusing your money and brands that you do feels like the most effective way to initiate change. Chapter 28 mentions that power over outcomes is exercised by the market, specifically who buys and who sells. This, I couldn’t agree with more. I’ve been a participant in “buy nothing” days I’ve heard about over social media, and subsequently read the articles that say the brands boycotted had their lowest 24 hour revenue period in history. In a world defined by money, the common person’s main source of power is where they spend their hard earned cash.

Chapter 30 discusses the drawbacks of globalization on laborers. While the chapter makes sense to me, I find myself asking a lot of questions that start with “why.” We can’t really undo globalization. We can discuss the downsides all we like, but why aren’t we discussing how we can change things? What actions can we realistically take to make things better? I read so much about the goods and bads of globalization it just feels repetitive. What can people, or governments actually do?

The NYT article has me questioning whether consumerism on the BRI is worth the safety risks. It doesn’t seem like anything sold in the market is a once-in-a-lifetime buy, so why do people who are at risk shop there? If there is a chance that you could be taken and imprisoned by the Chinese government, why would you even think about going there? Although, for the people who go there because it is the only place that they can see their family on the other side of the border, I completely understand the risks. 

The readings this week have me feeling really nihilistic about capitalism. We put consumption over safety and security.