Is Fairtrade fair? Discuss the case for and against the establishment of Fairtrade initiatives.
Fairtrade generally involves exporting of goods, particularly raw materials from developing countries with a minimum threshold price; which is beneficial for both sides of the trade. Fairtrade has garner much support over the past few decades.
The main aim for Fairtrade is the improvement of social-economics in impoverished countries that rely heavily on agricultural acitivities. There are two main mechanics behind the Fairtrade movement. First being the minimum price which provides a fixed amount of money to producer above the threshold price; helping to ensure a sustainable production. Second, the Fairtrade premium. This amount allows communities to use the money for social-economic improvement which is independent from the minimum price. These two mechanics has provided the fuel in agricultural communities allowing producers to have better lifes.
However, there are problems with Fairtrade movement itself. If left unkept, it will cause oversupply. Producers are paid based on the amount being exported, so the more they produce, the more they earn. Since Fairtrade utilizes a minimum price, the cost paid to producers will not drop even the market is flooded with goods. Next, the tendency for producers to skip certain process to enable faster production cause the drop in quality. It is true that Fairtrade provided guidelines, but the guidelines are not clear to the line, and allows some form of ambiguity and freedom. Thus, this loophole will be taken advantage of.
Fairtrade can be considered as a privileged "club" for the politically inclined, and the term fair can be seen differently from different perspective depending on ones viewpoint and needs.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Starting out...
Ok, since this is the first post of this blog (which is forced upon me due to academic requirements ;p) i should make myself enjoy it rather than treating it as chores. And the contents are to be legal in nature, so there are lots to write about, and if i include politics in a legal perspective, i won't have to worry running out of materials. Politicians are notorious for their loose mouth *ahem, getting gunned down almost everyday, it's like watching stand-up comedy, entertaining, engaging, everything except that the jokes are not funny.
Right, going on with this post, i recently read about the Nobel Price, which is awarded to two scientist for their research in graphene which is a very interesting graphitic structure, but i will turn my focus to the Nobel Peace Prize. The Peace Prize is awarded to Liu Xiaobo. This remarkable man is a Chinese intellectual, writer, and human rights activist who called for democratic reforms and the end of one-party rule in China. For his actions, he is currently a political prisoner in China. His alleged crime is "inciting subversion of state power." Freedom of speech has long been a taboo in China, sure, one can speak of anything behind close doors, but if such words are to be heard by authorities, then off to prison one will go. Surprisingly, freedom of speech is construed upon the people in their constitution, but in reality, it is never practiced.
The Nobel Peace Prize is the most controversial of Nobel Prizes since it is partially political as most of it's nominees and laureates are high ranking officials or highly persuasive figures in their communities. However, i'm a utilitarian, so it matters little to me the political factor in the prize. The thing that caught my attention is the sheer willpower and guts that these people possess. Such feats can only be achieve with luck and proper planning. Thats why some of them are regarded as idols, like Gandhi (nominated 5 times but was never awarded with the prize) and Mother Theresa. They do teach us alot about equality, justice and fairness, and they do so without bloodshed.
It seems that i wrote too long for this post, and i was told that too many words deter others from reading. I know thats true since i do the same. Lol.
Right, going on with this post, i recently read about the Nobel Price, which is awarded to two scientist for their research in graphene which is a very interesting graphitic structure, but i will turn my focus to the Nobel Peace Prize. The Peace Prize is awarded to Liu Xiaobo. This remarkable man is a Chinese intellectual, writer, and human rights activist who called for democratic reforms and the end of one-party rule in China. For his actions, he is currently a political prisoner in China. His alleged crime is "inciting subversion of state power." Freedom of speech has long been a taboo in China, sure, one can speak of anything behind close doors, but if such words are to be heard by authorities, then off to prison one will go. Surprisingly, freedom of speech is construed upon the people in their constitution, but in reality, it is never practiced.
The Nobel Peace Prize is the most controversial of Nobel Prizes since it is partially political as most of it's nominees and laureates are high ranking officials or highly persuasive figures in their communities. However, i'm a utilitarian, so it matters little to me the political factor in the prize. The thing that caught my attention is the sheer willpower and guts that these people possess. Such feats can only be achieve with luck and proper planning. Thats why some of them are regarded as idols, like Gandhi (nominated 5 times but was never awarded with the prize) and Mother Theresa. They do teach us alot about equality, justice and fairness, and they do so without bloodshed.
It seems that i wrote too long for this post, and i was told that too many words deter others from reading. I know thats true since i do the same. Lol.
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