Tragedy in Savar

Extra Credit Essay The Tragedy in Savar shows in my opinion what these multinational corporations are all about, the bottom line! Multinationals should be held accountable, they have a responsibility to the people of Savar and other poor countries that they choose to produce their goods in. At the same time multinationals need to keep their investors happy, need to turn a profit quarter after quarter, need to win at all costs. So do I think what happened in Savar is the result of the free market? Absolutely. The truth is it is easy to look at this from a moral standpoint and easily point the finger at these multinationals for allowing these poor working conditions, for choosing to produce their goods in poor countries where the workers are getting paid next to nothing, for not caring enough about the safety of these workers, etc. In reality I’m not sure these multinationals have a choice to do it any other way. We live in a profit driven free market where the bottom line trumps everything else. Companies are evaluated by it, investors are attracted to it, the bottom line is the most important thing and companies are looking for every advantage possible. In a perfect world I would say that the multinationals should learn from this and stay in Savar. They should invest into the production facilities, improve working conditions and safety, and setup a fund for the families who lost loved ones in the incident. The reason I don’t think that will happen is because no one holds these companies accountable. Their reputation in Savar might be ruined but they aren’t the ones buying the products anyway, we are. If the free market is to blame here then we the consumers are of equal blame. Disney has shifted production to another site which is most likely just as poor as Savar with working conditions just as bad. The only way to solve the problem is if consumers stop supporting these large companies who choose to put profit over people. Its hard to write