Child labor & poor working conditions & poor pay. In effect modern day slavery…
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Sadly if you substitute gold, diamonds, recycled materials, or just about anything else that the developed countries import from the developing countries similar stories can be found. Our global economy treats labor as a commodity rather than as the actions of people. It reminds me of a conversation in Terry Pratchett’s book Carpe Jugulum between Granny Weatherwax and the young priest Mightily Oats.
“Sin, young man is when you treat people like things. Including yourself. That’s what sin is.”
“ It’s a lot more complicated than that —“
“No. It ain’t. When people say things are a lot more complicated than that, they means they’re getting worried that they won’t like the truth. People as things, that where it starts.”
“Oh, I’m sure there are worse crimes —”
“But they starts with thinking about people as things ….
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Saving the planet trumps treating people with dignity. It is the perfect reason to sacrifice a few unfortunates for the future generations that will follow. Folks ain’t giving up their iPhone & electric cars. They have become an integral part of the developed world person’s life. We could ignore the suffering as we did not have to see the suffering. Now that there is an existential risk to earth reason we are exsolved of responsibility.
Hey what can one person do? Besides child labor increases shareholder value!
Drop the wealthiest into a volcano. A small sacrifice…
There are strong but somewhat quiet suggestions and determinations that we begin to control the Congo’s outcomes. This can include helping the Congo get to a legitimate government and nationalize her mining operations.
While this only got a mention recently on NPR you have to expect exactly that to happen. We can not live with China controlling the Congo. While China is going to be going from struggle to struggle internal to China we will move them out of the Congo.
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