Fair Trade movement began to advocate developing country producers and to promote sustainability. This social movement helps protect not only the payment of a fair price but also social and environmental standards in areas.
For our discussion, we need to understand the principle of capitalism. What is capitalism? Capitalism is an economic system which protects private rights and property. In this system, the intervention of government is minimized to allow capitalists to determine economic activities by private decision. As a result of this, the gap between the poor and the wealth occurs. Accordingly, the capitalist class conflicts with the labor class because each class wants to make more profit for themselves. Therefore, economy is controlled by those in power, the Capitalists. So, to protect the weak, Fair trade started.
In fact, Fair Trade itself has an inconsistency. Here is an argument:
1. Fair trade breaks the principle of capitalism.
2. Unless Fair trade keeps this principle, this trade would be unfair.
3. Therefore, there is no fair Fair Trade.
Concerning human welfare, socialists would insist that it is fair to secure the fair price for small producers. As this principle develops, we can reach communism. It can hinder the development of economy. Capitalists want free trade. So, there are some conflicts between two groups.
In fact, Fair Trade is designed to complement the weakness of capitalism. Since human beings are not perfect, the systems we have made should be defective. That is why capitalism has to be combined with Democracy. As a matter of fact, when it comes to Democracy, we have a lot of arguments. For example, what does Democracy support: the equality of opportunity or capital?
In conclusion, Fair Trade is not unfair because the definition of fair is relative to the economic system in place. Nonetheless, Fair Trade embodies the social "rules" for human beings just as Jesus healed the cripple on the Sabbath day.
*Compassionate Capitalism?*
ReplyDeleteAccording to Doomin's argument, the rise in Fair Trade suggests that we are moving towards a socialist economic system. Really?
Perhaps an alternative explanation is that Capitalism has become (like Conservativism) compassionate. In other words, compassionate products have a competitive edge.
Well I would argue that fair trade is anti capitalism for the following reason...
ReplyDeleteIt is known that in a capitalist society, when the sale of one product is no longer profitable, the person will naturally sell the most profitable product the people demand.
Coffee farmers are no fools and they have realized they can make more money by selling coca than coffee.
Capitalism promoted increased cocaine production and sales
Fair trade wishes to intervene and make it profitable for people to sell coffee so they won't sell cocaine for moral reasons
This interferes with capitalism
But the reason why we want this interference is because we want to correct another interference with capitalism
This other interference was the coffee makers exploiting the inflexible demands of the coffee makers and paying them far less than fair market value and then selling it to Americans for a "lower" price than the fair market value which allowed them to get to the top of the coffee market and force us to believe their practices were right.
The only way that "fair trade" is going to be able to compete against this legitimate capitalist institution is if they are able to prove that their "fair trade" coffee is clearly a better product. This is the main reason why I like their coffee and is the only way they will be able to out perform the "unfair trade" coffee