http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/rescuers-lift-some-miners-trapped-south-africa-n31516
This article focuses on Some illegal miners and how they ended up being stuck in a gold mine near Johannesburg. Initially the rescuers pulled out 12 miners, and then another 30, who stated that there were supposedly another two hundred bellow. The company exploiting the mine is called gold one, it is a Chinese company. Many of the workers do not want to be reduced in fear of being arrested as soon as they reach the surface. Illegal mining is not rare in South Africa, the Chinese company stated that the workers were not theirs, that apparently they had tried to access the companies sector and the mine collapsed on them while they dug their way in.
I can relate this to the industrial revolution in a sense that there were many workers who were not in optimal conditions. Honestly I believe that the workers do work for the gold one company but this one pays them under the radar in order to save more money on things like safety precautions, taxes, the minimal wage, and other money consuming tasks. The company obviously benefits from these workers since they are probably desperate for the work, and will receive the most minimal pay. This has been going on since the industrial revolution and probably will still happen. The invisible hand did play a role here, by the mine collapsing, and the gold one company being so ironically close, the government or certain organisation will probably open an investigation into it to see if the miners are actually illegally working for gold one. This serves as a punishment since if it is so, the company will have to pay a large fine and suffer other consequences. The idea is that eventually companies will do the correct things so that they will not be punished by the invisible hand, but in my opinion there is a long long way to go.
Nicole,
ReplyDeleteThis article and your analysis brings up some good points. I would, however, like to clarify one thing. The Invisible Hand only includes consumer demand. If consumers stop purchasing Gold One products because it treats its workers poorly, that is an example of the Invisible Hand punishing a company. However, a government investigation is something else that is unrelated to the Invisible Hand. Overall, what do you think this case tells you about the role of the Invisible Hand? Is it enough to make sure people get treated well? Consumers have quality products?