Global politics and economics in the 21st century
The Danish Documentary Blood in the Mobile shows the connection between mobile phones and the civil war in Congo. Director Frank Poulsen travels to DR Congo to see the illegal mine industry with his own eyes. He gets access to Congo’s largest tin-mine, which is being controlled by different armed groups, and where children work for days in narrow mine tunnels to dig out the minerals that end up in our phones.
Via Hope/Glory.
Image via Wikipedia
In this blog, we have been closely following aspects of China’s political economy, not least as part of our interest in the rising powers and the new global power cartography. In particular, we have followed the labour unrest in China, as part of the wave of labour unrest in the most rapidly industrialising nations. We have spotlights Foxconn as one of the worst offenders.
A recent post on the British blog Modernity has comprehensive coverage of Foxconn, including its activities in India.
Capitalism depends on the manufacture of goods at comparatively low prices, but often sold at a premium.
For evidence of that we need look no further than the modern Western accoutrement, the mobile phone.
This has been brought into focus by the activities of Foxconn, whose naked exploitation of its workers has led to many suicides and growing concerns over its activities.
Foxconn is effectively a subcontractor to Western companies, Apple, Nokia, etc. They put together electronic goods and mobile phones that are so ubiquitous in the West.
But that labour comes at a cost, small cost for Foxconn and a large one for its workers as the strike in India shows.
New Politics Review 