Pynchon and global capital/corporations

[jbor]

----------
>From: Doug Millison <DMillison at ftmg.net>
>

> I wouldn't mind it if they could do this without the sexual abuse, physical
> and verbal harassment, and other forms of well-documented exploitation,
> oppression, abuse, and violence that too often are part of this sort of
> thing.

I suspect exaggeration here. Corporate motives do not extend beyond profit,
whereas the motives of political or colonial, and religious, conquest
certainly have lent and do lend themselves to the officially-sanctioned
symptoms of persecution and genocide you mention. There are regional laws in
all places which deal with sexual abuse, harassment, violence etc; these are
criminal rather than economic offences, and are dealt with as such locally.

It seems to me that what you are describing (jailed workers etc) is the
outcome of social and economic isolationism and totalitarian oppression *in
China* over a long period of time, rather than anything to do with
"globalisation". The social ramifications of the type of multinational
corporatisation we are discussing are very often beneficial to the quality
of life of the indigenous populations: education, health, transport etc. Of
course, we'd need to ask the people there what they think, wouldn't we ... ?

best