Quote Originally Posted by Polymirize
there are all sorts of justifications for the status quo. And they are exactly that, justifications.

The fact that people live in a situation where they choose to survive, vs not-survive is not highly indicative of a free choice, but I see where you're going with that. Having fewer constraints on ourselves, surely we could lower ourselves somewhat in order to expand the parameters of their existence to something beyond mere survival. I work a job in order to have money to pay bills, rent, for food, and even luxury items like the occasional eighth and high speed internet. The fact that people can be hired for jobs which basically allow them to slowly starve is ridiculous.

I'll admit, I'm something of an idealist over a sound economist though. I agree with other out-there policies such as aids relief and water purification projects in africa and the like.
You see the situation through Western eyes Polymirize. Your statement of "The fact that people can be hired for jobs which basically allow them to slowly starve is ridiculous" shows this. Please don't take this as negative criticism because that's not how it was intended. Just a fact. The price of goods in any area is directly related to the amount of money in any area. There is considerably more money in the U.S. so the same item will cost considerably more. At least this is true with staple items such as food, housing, and clothing. Luxury items like iPOD's, TV's, etc. are much more expensive in poorer countries because their price remains relatively constant.

In many parts of the world $1 a day can feed a family quite well. When I lived in China I would routinely go to the local noodle shop and get a huge bowl of soup, with freshly made noodles, beef, and an egg. I'd be completely stuffed when I was done and would have only spent the equivilent of US$0.10, a dime! And that was in the big city, Shanghai, where prices were higher. Even in bigger, fancier, restaurants two people can have a quite lavish dinner for less that $5. Ironically, a burger and fries at McD's in Shanghai is considered quite expensive, as prices there are essentially the same here. Who'd have ever thought that McD's would be considered posh dining. In any case, the point I'm trying to make is that just because a person would starve on $1 a day here, in someplace like Indonesia they could probably eat quite well.

Of course, the standard of living is quite different. As I mentioned above, luxury items are still quite expensive and not within the financial grasp of someone making $1 a day. But this doesn't mean the people do not live happy and productive lives. And with the headaches that all of our material possessions bring, I often wonder if they might not be better off. At least in some aspects.

Now don't get me wrong, I am not foolish to believe that all is good in the world and that there are not people suffering. There are, and projects like aids relief, water purification, etc. are certainly needed. I have no problems with these types of aid. My problem is with the knee jerk reaction, of the left, which seems to assume that if we're not dropping free bags of wheat on the people nothing else matters. Like the old saying goes, "give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day, teach him to fish and he'll eat for life". Maybe, just maybe, in the long run, a factory paying $1 a day will be a whole lot more beneficial than a sack of grain. Maybe not. The point is that we really need to look at the big picture before assuming that factory is bad.