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?