:: The Lowest Price is Lawless ::

Are Dollar Stores and Wall-Marts (and their various off-shoots and disciples) lowest prices actually a storefront for products manufactured by cheap labour and political prisoners in countries that violate human rights for the sake of profits?

It does not matter if it's China or Indonesia, or countries in South America, there has certainly been a mass exodus toward developping countries where construction, production and environmental laws are slacked, which attracts many brand names manufacturers. THing is, wages and absence of Unions are also a big dog in the balance.

The result is that there is an exponential increase of products that are imported here that have been built by people who's quality of life suffers tremendously. We would never work under their conditions.

Granted, our countries did work under those conditions, and is it our place to dictate the flow of their history in conquering these prematuraly? Shouldn't there be a genuine movement born from the people asking for reform? Even if it will massively mean imprisonment, where they will continue working just the same... or death?

How aware do we want to be? How responsible do we want to be with our money? What control do we have over all this? How should we shop, since Fair Trade isn't possible in countries living under political oppression?

Well, I don't know. Being poor forces me to look for lower prices, but I can't shake the deep malaise I have any time I walk in a Dollar Store, Wall-Mart being on my black list for violation of social environmental ethics, and for being a landscape eye-sore and a black hole for local economies... and being relentless at wanting what they want just because they can afford the lawyers and the years it takes for them to violate the population's request that they do their business elsewhere, or at a specific spot within the city's development plans.

Anyways, here's a good one from Voice of the Martyrs on that sort of topic that I got from the latest "Virtual House" newletter from Christianity.ca.