Global free-market capitalism has produced high rates of economic growth in many countries… but caused or exacerbated some problems, such as growing inequality, environmental damage, tax avoidance, disruptions due to global trade (outsourcing, job loss), poor working conditions (“sweatshops”), abuses by multinational corporations (MNCs), and economic crises.
Find a concrete example, such as a news report, article, or video describing a problem that arises in global capitalism
Regarding references/citations: The grading rubric will not focus on references/cites, but providing them is always a good habit.
Here are some guidelines: You should provide a full reference (date, author, title, publisher/website) for the main news article/video/example that is the topic of your essay. You may use any reference format you prefer (inline, bottom of page, end of document, or whatever). You should also provide source information for direct quotes or if you draw heavily on a specific external source (a link to the source is enough; you don’t need to list out full title/author/etc). You do not need to provide references to course material (e.g., lecture or readings that are part of the class), though it doesn’t hurt to mention relevant authors specifically (e.g., Stiglitz, etc) if you draw heavily upon them. As a reminder: It is never appropriate to take substantial blocks of text from other sources without quotation marks and a citation. Nor is it appropriate to borrow text and just change a few words or word order.
Find a concrete example, such as a news report, article, or video describing a problem that arises in global capitalism.
1. Provide a summary of news report, issue, or event (approx. 200 words)
2. Use ideas from this course to unpack the issue. Has this problem been around for a long time, or was the problem produced (or exacerbated) by the post-1980 period (shift to “free markets” and neo-liberalism)? Is it a type of market failure? Is a problem due to unregulated markets? Is the problem due to the huge resources of MNCs compared to governments, or the concept of “limited liability”? Is the problem caused by global trade or trade agreements? The rapid flow of global capital? Or something else? (Approx 350 words)
3. Thinking about solutions: Can you envision a way to reduce or solve this problem? Does it require state action to control/regulate markets? Can a single country fix this problem, or does the solution require the cooperation of many countries? Can you find examples of efforts (e.g., laws or international agreements) to address this problem or problems like it? Feel free to conclude with your own personal thoughts about what you would do about this if you were president and/or whether this problem is likely to be solved anytime soon.
