Emancipating the Slaves to Neo-classical Economics

I think it is entirely reasonable to identify the American consumer as someone who shares responsibility for the social injustice that is an unintended side effect of today's global economy. He is at best an unwitting coconspirator, tacitly condoning the practices of the multinational corporations who stock the shelves of his local store. At worst, he is an uncaring opportunist, whose callous gluttony for cheap imports helps drive a cycle of abuse in the international labor market. I also believe that the sooner a critical mass of consumers becomes aware of their complicity in labor and human rights violations in the developing world, the sooner effective political solutions to the problems of globalization will emerge.

I am not talking here about the theoretical role of consumers in a neoclassical economic model. I am talking about citizens who shop, about consumers who vote and join grassroots organizations, about ordinary people who possess an extraordinary capacity to take personal responsibility for their actions--once they are mindful of the consequences.

The notion that American consumers are complicit in the veil of suffering that is caused by unregulated labor practices in the global economy was not at all a central point in Levi's Children, ¹ as George Demartino suggests in his review of the book. ² The basic message I aimed to get across was that there are serious obstacles to practicing the tenets of corporate social responsibility in a competitive marketplace, and that corporations themselves are never likely to take meaningful responsibility for safeguarding human rights while doing business relatively free of legal constraints. The problem is too big and complex for voluntary self-regulation by the corporate community. This idea is not mine originally. Similar arguments have been made elsewhere. ³

The defining question I posed to readers of my book was this: If corporations--even a paragon of high ethical principles such as Levi Strauss & Co.--cannot be counted on to take responsibility for the social problems caused by their business activities, who can? I do not believe multilateral agencies such as the World Trade Organization (WTO) or the United Nations have the capacity, or the predilection, to step up to the task any time soon. Even if they did, the fleeting and mobile nature of the manufacturing sector, compounded by the incorrigible corruption of local labor officials, would make a mockery of enforcement efforts. Before the international community can even begin to agree on remedies, the United States needs to take decisive leadership on the issue. But I seriously doubt the U.S. government, particularly under the current administration, is going to be inclined to act boldly in this area.

Why not then look to enlightened American consumers, galvanized by opinion leaders in the human rights advocacy community, for grassroots political action? Prof. Demartino notes a logical inconsistency in my characterization of consumer demand as a responsible agent in global economic transactions, which he suggests would relieve corporations of their responsibility for outlandish behavior in supplying competitively priced goods to the free market. I was amused to be placed in the grips of Milton Friedman's cutthroat ideology, while at the same time I indicted it as soulless and amoral. Notwithstanding the rigors of neoclassical economic theory, I submit that the people who reap the greatest benefits as consumers of the fruits of the global economy can and should play a responsible role in counteracting its egregious pattern of labor exploitation. I think Prof. Demartino and I would agree that this is the ultimate goal.

I cannot take credit for imagining that progress toward this goal was likely to take place through the agency of "consumer sovereignty," whereby the demand or the lack of demand for cheap goods would somehow affect the proliferation of labor abuse. The popular delusion achieved by corporate brand marketing is so omnipotent in today's information-saturated environment that companies do not need consumers to make conscious choices to drive demand--the marketeers know...