Sunday, October 12, 2008
Freedom to work a real choice?
One of the main issues we have discussed in class is whether or not choosing to work a mundane, low-paying job is a choice. This comes down to whether or not you believe working a mundane, low-paying job is a forced choice or free choice, and also whether or not you believe that a forced choice is still a real choice. If someone is raised in an environment where they do not have much of an opportunity to become educated, one can hardly blame them for not being able to get a decent job. Luckily, in the United States, virtually everyone is guaranteed an average education up to the 12th grade. However, in third world countries, a good education is not always readily available. People from those third world countries, then, are forced to work jobs that do not allow for them to truly use their skills. They may not really have the opportunity to get a better job or start a business. Is their choice to work in a free trade zone a free choice then? If they have to choose between working at a free trade zone and starving (at no fault of their own), can one really say that that is a free choice? One can reasonably say that this is an unfair situation. Is this just something that will happen in a capitalist system, or is this something that should be addressed? Are unfair working conditions something people just have to “deal with”? Is the choice to work at a mundane, low-paying job a real choice or a forced choice? I would tend to say that it is a forced choice.
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I agree that many people in third world countries do not have many options and are left with no other choice but to work these low paying jobs. But I’m not so sure if I agree with the term “forced choice” that has been labeled to this situation. When I hear the term forced choice, to me all it sounds like is an oxymoron. I mean isn’t the whole meaning behind the word choice is that one can choose what pleases them and is therefore not being forced to choose anything else? I agree with Eric that many of these people in third world countries are not offered good educational systems and are therefore not left with many options for a career. But I was a bit confused when he said that these people are not given an opportunity to get a job that truly uses their skills. Aren’t we talking about uneducated people who have no other choice but to work these “mundane” jobs? What real skills do they really have that are being wasted?
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