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Out of sight mind is very convenient. If we dont see what is really going on it is easier for us as consumers to sleep at night. Capitalism, colonialism and slavery are still practiced today, but in foreign countries and in a different manner. Before reading King Leopold's Ghost, when I thought of slavery I thought of the transatlantic slave trade or Africans working as slaves in the US.
After reading the book my eyes were open to a whole new perspective on slavery, capitalism and colonialism. When buying a product from a local store, one rarely inquires of the origin of the products raw materials as well as the working conditions / living conditions of the employees who created it. Our clothes, toys, accessories, and many other items have more history than we decide to realize. Take the designer imitation shoes you bought on sale from Payless for $ 10. Did ever wonder why or how you could get such a Great Deal!
If the tag says MADE IN CHINA, it was produced for very cheap labor possibly by children working and living in conditions we would find unbearable for ourselves. In a way it is slavery, because in poor countries jobs are often scarce and pay is bad. If you have a job you will go to extremes to keep it, not because you like the job, but because you need it to survive. The owner of the business knows that and therefore he or she has a control over your life. This form of slavery is linked directly to capitalism and communism first because capitalism is motivation due to a potential profit. Second because of the Dictators who run the country in such a way to allow those sorts of businesses to stay in production.
King Leopold managed to deceive many countries into thinking that his interest in Africa was that of a humanitarian wanting to spread the word of god, when in reality it was his plan to enslave the people to harvest rubber and other raw materials of the region. I think that morally this was very wrong and it should not ever be repeated. When I look at it in a get the job done sort of way it is hard not to give credit to King Leopold. His cruel yet innovative way of doing things got the job done.
He wanted money, more power, and the appearance he was a humanitarian. Many of the products currently being produced are results of colonialism. Take Iraq for example, one reason the U. S. Government recently liberated it because we wanted to stop Sadaams reign of terror.
This may be true, but an even stronger reason for the U. S. to send its military to that country is because of the raw material that is so abundant there, oil. Some say that the U. S. was in the wrong by entering Iraq.
I feel that since the world today is greatly dependant on oil, it is only a matter of time some country will try to control it. Id rather be a part of the country that controls it, than the country that doesnt. I dont fully condone this form of colonialism, but I am aware of it and how it has both positive and negative effects on the world and mainly the U. S. population. Without oil our country along with many others would not be able to operate.
The country who controls the oil and who can defend itself the best has a great advantage over the rest of the world. The United States currently is in a similar position. Colonialism is defined as a policy in which a country rules other nations and develops trade for its own benefit. This has been going on even before Europeans started conquering and claiming different lands in name of their country. It still occurs today. The U.
S. still has many territories in which it is active with forms of colonialism. My opinion on the book really has many aspects. The get the job done aspect was mentioned earlier, but I think that more often our society really unconsciously wants someone to get the job done, but not anywhere close enough for us to feel the direct effects and disturb our bubble that we live in.
Our society, to me is driven by the media and making things seem harmless and glamorous. Similar to what King Leopold was doing. He was exploiting the people of the Congo, while deceiving others of his own true identity. The media does this with commercials of nice clothes and products.
Conglomerates are like King Leopold in the sense that they are exploiting people for personal gain fueled by greed. The people exploited are like the Congo's population during King Leopold's time in power. In advertisements we see the result of smart marketing and advertisement. The image of the company is what the company allows us to see. For example, we may know that Nike has a new revolutionary running shoe, but we dont know the truth of how the shoe was made and who labored for. 50 cents a day to make it. I have come to relate the book and its characters to our society, because I feel it is necessary to not only educate others of what is going on today, but to educate myself and feed my hunger for knowledge on the ways of business.
I know the world is not a perfect place, it may never be, but as long as we are aware of what is going on, those who are educated may realize something they dont agree with and try to help change the situation for the betterment of society. In conclusion out of sight mind is how our society handles capitalism. If we dont see what is really going on it is easier for us as consumers to sleep at night. Capitalism, colonialism and slavery are still practiced today, but in foreign countries and in a different manner.
After reading the book my eyes were open to a whole new perspective on slavery, capitalism and colonialism.
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Research essay sample on Reading The Book King Leopold
