Not Buying It

Are you tired of how everyone is so obsessed with buying stuff all the time?  Yeah, me too.  Maybe it has to do with the time I've spent volunteering that makes me wonder, What do I actually need?  When I buy something, how long will it take for me to want more?  How many people out there actually do need a new pair of shoes because they are barefoot, and how many pairs of forgotten shoes do I have stuffed in my closet?

And then I think about the people who made the stuff.  Are they happy?  Do they have enough to eat?  Guilt.

I recently read an article in "Wired" magazine about the work compounds in China where the people live in little dorms and do repetitive work on assembly lines for 10 hours a day.  The cover screams...

Powerful imagery.  Yet, isn't it good to give people jobs?  Doesn't it benefit their lives?  I really don't know a lot about this, but I've been thinking about it a lot since I'm taking a class this semester on economic globalization.  New America Media has an article about how Forever 21 pays the garment workers a pittance.

Really, this is not my area of expertise.  I don't really know what to think about it, and I'm definitely not condemning globalization and mass-production as if it's some black-and-white subject.  I'm mostly just thinking out loud...  I'd like to hear what you have to say on this issue.