Is Capitalism killing us?

After analyzing the terms that Lynn Nottage uses in Sweat, I wanted to see how her allusions showed how corporations shifted from prioritizing workers to prioritizing efficiency. Nottage does this by using specific events and terms to show how major events had major impacts on the lives of the average American. This is shown specifically with NAFTA which once finalized allowed for American based companies to shift production to other locations with cheaper resources and labor. While NAFTA created a relatively free trade system across North America, It also allowed for companies to shift production to locations across North America in the name of cheaper labor. By using NAFTA to their advantage, companies were able to move production to areas like Mexico and China where labor regulations were relatively obsolete and they could exploit workers without any pushback due to lack of established unions. And they were rewarded! More Profits, More production, More greed. These companies reached record highs by severely underpaying workers in these countries and making them work inhumane hours just to earn a living for their family. Take for example, Goodyear a "American" based company that specializes in tires. In 2019 a group of U.S. Reps were touring numerous American factories in Mexico and after Good year refused to give them a tour wrote "We are also disappointed that an iconic American company like Goodyear, which is shedding jobs at home while building new facilities in Mexico, is failing to provide its workers in Mexico with basic labor rights that are recognized internationally and under Mexican law,". Goodyear is an example of a company that took advantage of NAFTA to shift production to Mexico in the name of better profits. What those profits entail however is an emphasis on efficiency that is on all accounts dangerous. "There have been cases of really bad accidents and deaths in which ... nothing happened and the companies keep operating in the same way," said Gerardo Cancino, who was head of workplace safety in Tabasco state for 11 years until 2019. This emphasis on efficiency is really an emphasis on profits. By creating more and more products in less and less time companies are able to "efficiently" keep up with an endless supply of consumerism. NAFTA also ultimately is the reason that Olstead's plant in Sweat lets go of so many people and starts looking for new workers. By moving to Mexico and employing people who are most likely willing to work for less than what Olstead has been paying their "American" workers for years, Olstead is able to maximize profit which economically is a good thing but demonstrates to us how NAFTA completely changed how workers in factories get to be treated. While in the U.S. many workers can enjoy the spoils of what our relatively strict regulations get them, a pension plan, union rights, all things that people like Cynthia, Tracey, Jason and Chris can enjoy, in places like Mexico, these corporations aren't required to give their Mexican workers any of that. These regulations in the U.S. allow for factory workers to work a "good job" and get good pay and live a normal life. But by giving companies the option to shift elsewhere for more profit they ultimately begin to value American workers less simply because they aren't the cheapest or best option anymore. For this reason, the American workers get treated worse. They lose their benefits, much of their salary and free time. NAFTA itself is a result of capitalism, by prioritizing the wealth of individual corporations over actual people , it's capitalistic nature allows these corporations to chase a cheaper and easier way to exploit its workers in the name of money. The prestige and value of the average American factory job collapses within itself because the only thing that capitalism teaches the government and corporations to prioritize is money. And while NAFTA may have allowed for a wealthier country it ultimately makes its citizens victims to their capitalistic, greedy CEO's.  

In my AP econ class, we're always taught that every single firm's only goal is to maximize profit. As Mr. Aldinger says it's the only way for a firm to be successful. But when that success comes through a system of worker exploitation and corporate greed, for how much longer can we ignore the fact that capitalism is killing our humanity?

Are drugs cool if you're rich?

 Substance Abuse means very different things for different social classes. For the lower class and poverty stricken it means a dysfunctional relationship with drugs and alcohol that starts at a young age. In contrast, for the upper-class drugs mean an enlightened, fun and even glamorous way of life. The complete contrast in the way that drugs is perceived between social classes is almost ironic. I mean how can a substance like cocaine that has caused so much hardship and violence for poverty-stricken families still be glamorized and consumed by Celebrities and the elite? Drugs aren't just a high for rich people they're a way for them to enhance their already glamorous and luxurious life along a euphoric high that accentuates their already dopamine driven lifestyle.  For poor people however drugs are an escape, driven by unfortunate and often unescapable circumstances of poverty, hunger and depression. That "high" is the only thing that can distract from the often anxiety inducing and depressing situations of violence, hunger and poverty these people are in. "According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), in the early 2020s about 16 percent of unhoused individuals reported having a substance abuse disorder" (EBSCO).  As you can see drugs are prevalent in these situations of poverty (homelessness) and are ultimately an escape from reality for these people. In contrast drugs for the ultra-wealthy means an aesthetic, one that is often paired with expensive clothes, bags and an eating disorder. Celebrities like Charli XCX are widely known for doing Cocaine at their parties and getting high at clubs. But she isn't regarded with the same disgust that many of the homeless people you see doing drugs on the streets of Detroit might encounter. In fact, Cocaine is a part of Charli's brand. Cocaine has made its appearance numerous times around her most public appearances most notably when she released a variant of her vinyl that was filled up with a suspicious white powder. Even when she made a cameo on the TV show Overcompensating, she's quoted saying to one of her assistants "What, No Cocaine"? when shown her room for a concert. Charli's whole brand is built around being a messy, glamorous Party Girl that doesn't need to care about the consequences of her actions. She might do a line here and there but she's still rich, so it doesn't really matter. People love this too, her iconic album titled BRAT alludes to drug use all the time, but it still became one of the most played albums of the summer in 2023. Even earning the name BRAT summer.  Drug use on Charli is chic and glamorous and fun but those same fans that listen to her music scoff in disgust at the sight of a homeless man doing the exact same thing she is. Even though the homeless man has more of a "reason" to want to escape reality than she probably does, when he does drugs its gross, ghetto and icky. This complete difference in view surrounding drug use for different social classes ultimately stems from money. Because Charli is rich, and because she has all this fame, she can afford to not care about the consequences of drug use. But the homeless man on the street doing drugs doesn't have that. He has to rely on a split government that currently can't even afford to keep SNAP benefits or keep anything that could help him out of hardship. The extreme wealth gap that we have witnessed growing over the past decades is the result of a societal hierarchy that lets the wealthy get away with anything and leaves the poor to fend for themselves. This is exacerbated by the fact that the wealthy elite (celebrities with fanbases like Taylor Swift) are idolized by the lower and middle class. People will do everything that they are doing even when they don't have the money to support themselves in the same way a celebrity like Charli XCX might be able to. They're cool and to be cool people want to be just like them. However, many of these people don't have the means to support themselves and pay for a lifelong addiction to substances. For them substances often lead to a life of homelessness or violence in order to keep up with that lifestyle. But when you have to result to a means that isn't money, drugs become just another gross addiction that the "poor" are hooked on. That's why drug use is so prevalent and so different across the wealth gap. Drugs are cool until you can't pay your way out of the consequences they create.