Sunday, May 16, 2021

 

EARLY IMPACTS OF CORONAVIRUS ON BANGLADESH APPAREL SUPPLY CHAINS

2020, Copenhagen Business School
53 Views25 Pages
Seven years ago this month, more than 1,100 garment workers in Bangladesh were killed when the Rana Plaza complex collapsed on top of them. Today, the Bangladesh apparel industry and its 4+ million workers face a new crisis: coronavirus. Obvious health issues aside, the impacts of the global pandemic on the industry and its workers are potentially catastrophic for the industry and the wider society alike. This report outlines some the early issues and developments relating to the impact of coronavirus in Bangladesh’s apparel industry and supply chain. The report has two primary aims. First, it seeks to aggregate key information about developments and issues arising in Bangladesh’s apparel industry as a result of the coronavirus. Accounts and reporting are widespread, and the report brings together data and information from both international and local sources. It draws on media articles, academic research, watchdog reports, governmental policies and industry accounts to create a comprehensive overview of the issues and reporting. Second, and more significantly, it looks behind the numbers and accounts to provide analysis of, and reflections on, the broader issues and challenges at play. Key questions arising from this are detailed in the final section. The content here is reflective of a close collaboration of researchers from both the Global North and Bangladesh, thereby providing a balanced perspective. However, the report is not entirely comprehensive. In its quest for speed, it does not yet provide an account of the trade union movement, updates on trade policies, or other important developments that affect the industry. These and other topics will be addressed in future reports. This report is a product of the RISC project, which seeks to shed light on how social sustainability issues – like working conditions and occupational health and safety – are governed in the Bangladesh RMG industry. In particular, it examines how different entities – like brands, suppliers and governments – understand and take action on their responsibilities. Thus, RISC researchers endeavor to draw on their knowledge and experience in the industry to provide insight into the impacts of coronavirus given that many of the major issues arising are core to our areas of expertise: ethical trade, supply chain management, corporate social responsibility, social sustainabil … View full abstract

Global Labour Studies in the Pandemic: Notes for an Emerging Agenda

Global Labour Journal,

2020, 11(2), Page 74

Editorial

Maria Lorena Cook, Cornell University, USA

Madhumita Dutta, The Ohio State University, USA

 Alexander Gallas, University of Kassel, Germany

 Jörg Nowak, University College Dublin, Ireland

Ben Scully, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa

https://www.academia.edu/43231421/Global_Labour_Studies_in_the_Pandemic_Notes_for_an_Emerging_Agenda

 

Solidarity in times of social distancing: migrants, mutual aid, and COVID-19

Published 2020
139 Views12 Pages
Stories on communing prompted us to write this manuscript. As we ventured into emerging reports, articles, and other readings about organizations and grassroots community groups on the forefront of the ‘fight’1 against the pandemic, bringing support to people in need, we felt provoked to explore the strategies and networks that are working with, for, and amongst migrants.

 

Pandemic Urbanism: Praxis in the Time of Covid-19

2020, Pandemic Urbanism: Praxis in the Time of Covid-19
1,104 Views52 Pages
This open access reading list < https://bit.ly/pandemicurbanism> is a result of the collective effort of PhD and Masters students in the Urban Planning program at the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation at Columbia University. The aim of the list is to provide a collection of materials that address the pandemic as it relates to urbanism, urban planning, architecture, and the built environment. The material presented here is being collected, organized and summarized over the months of March and April 2020 as we witnessed our lives transformed by the COVID 19 crisis, especially in New York City, a city many of us call home and a place that has become one of the main hotspots for the spread of the infectious disease that so far has killed more than 15,000 people (as of April 22). Our hope that this list will be useful in bringing together -in one document- materials that students and scholars will find useful to think about the pandemic as it relates to urbanization. We also hope that this document will become a “living document” that people can take the liberty to update with relevant entries in the spirit of providing a collective resource for people across the globe interested in the implications of COVID-19 for our built environment (instructions to add entries are at the bottom of the document).

 

Understanding the Rise of the Radical Right

106 Views14 Pages
How can we understand the reasons behind the rise of the radical right? Why has it gained such momentum? Explanations often pose the dilemma of: is it the social question, or racism? In the words of Stuart Hall, we can say that “the problem is not if economic structures are relevant for racial divisions, but how they are connected”. He continues: “It is not the question if people make racist ascriptions, but what are the specific conditions under which racism become socially decisive and historically effective”. And what is to be done?



The Rise of Global Authoritarianism Nineteen theses on its causes and defining moments

2019, Rosa-Luxemburg-Foundation
151 Views6 Pages
We live in the age of monsters. As the organic crisis of the old neoliberal project of globalization continues, nearly everywhere in Europe—but also in the US, Latin America, Asia, and Africa—we are seeing the rise of an authoritarian and radical right wing. How can the rise of the radical right be understood? There have of course always been forms of authoritarian rule (cf. Marx’s 18th Brumaire), about which the Left has developed a rich corpus of theory. Thus the question is not whether this kind of authoritarianism exists; it always has. Rather, what are the specific conditions which give it global social importance and historical effectiveness today? How has this phenomenon been able to become so significant precisely now? The following are a few theses (intended as a starting-point for further research).

 

Ingar Solty, Uwe Sonnenberg and Jörn Schütrumpf: "Stop or We Will Shoot!" Why the Social Revolution of 1918-19 Had to End in Political Revolution and Ultimately Lost It As Well

2019, LuXemburg: Gesellschaftsanalyse und linke Praxis
413 Views76 Pages

 

Socialism for Future

2020, LuXemburg
114 Views88 Pages
Do you want socialism and the future? How can we still talk about socialism in these dystopian times? And how to fall silent upon this? Capitalism is devouring our future—while the crises of our time are literally heating up, it appears that their resolution is all the more absent. Furious ecological destruction, escalating military conflicts, the rise of the radical right as well as the private appropriation of social wealth are putting the future into question. Planetary boundaries and tipping points are already reached, narrowing the temporal horizon for left-wing alternatives. More and more people are realizing that we are running headlong into catastrophe if we do not radically transform the economy and society quickly—Fridays for Future and the global climate strikes symbolize this. Right now, it's easier to imagine the end of the world than an end to capitalism (Frederic Jameson). Thoroughgoing and radical alternatives (system change) are increasingly being called for—and more often. Young people are beginning to connect the future to a socialist vision, especially in the US and in Great Britain. Socialism is even being fought over again in Germany, where there is a strong anti-communist tradition. What does a SOCIALISM FOR FUTURE, a socio-ecological revolution, a green socialism look like? How does it connect the various desires of the many? What does a policy that creates hope and brings real change look like? What is to be done and where do we begin? Socialism should first of all be obvious, self-evident, a matter of course... but it is also about producing exemplary, concrete social conflicts while lampooning the propertied classes' whine when little is taken from them. And moreover, there are a good many ideas and proposals: The Green New Deal put forward by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders being the most prominent. The neoliberal mantra "There is no Alternative" was turned into its opposite: There is no longer an alternative to radical transformation. Or according to Véronica Gago: socialism means taking care of the future. With contributions from: With contribution by Étienne Balibar, Mario Candeias, Alex Demirović, Verónica Gago, Sarah Leonard and Ingar Solty

A WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY FOR LEFTIST POLITICS?

2020, LuXemburg
86 Views45 Pages
Our goal in this text is not to make any assessments about virology or epidemiology. There are more than enough of those at the moment and we do not claim to be specialists in those fields. Like many others, we are trying to get our bearings in the whirlwind of information, and we invest our trust in the Robert Koch Institute more than in the cooked—up opinions of loud- mouth know—it—alls.1 We are not of the opinion that the German federal and state governments are actors who have simply been waiting to impose authoritarian measures. Nevertheless, we do believe that there are a number of problems with the federal and state actions. These include miscalculating the development of the epidemic; failing to prepare for it by having the health care system be subject to the pressures of costs and profits for many years already; showing an indecisive attitude towards the demands of caregivers as well as demonstrating a number of inconsistencies with the aid packages; and then there’s the police assaults in ensuring distancing rules. Our goal in this text is to address the specific situation of the left amidst the crisis and to show how we can be proactive within it.

 

"Globalization and Consumer Culture: Social Costs and Political Implications of the COVID-19 Pandemic." In Eubios Journal of Asian and International Bioethics Volume 30 Number 3 (April 2020): 77-80

2020, Eubios Journal of Asian and International Bioethics
Top 3%1,455 Views65 Pages
Using the available data and the literature on pandemics, this investigation looks into the COVID-19 crisis from an economic as well as the social point of view. It elaborates the political as well as the moral implications of the outbreak. The paper also argues that globalization and consumerism contribute to the impact of the pandemic to the millions of lives around the world. It counters the idea of property rights to address relevant issues related to the affordability of future vaccines and the access of the poor to modern medicine and advanced treatments. While strong leadership and draconian measures appear necessary to ensure the safety of the public, the analysis indicates that human solidarity is crucial to overcome the existential threat of this pandemic. Democracy, it will be argued, remains important as opposed to measures that violate the rights of people as societies try to contain the spread of the virus.



"The Covid-19 Pandemic and Social Inequality." In Eubios Journal of Asian and International Bioethics, Volume 30, Number 5 (June 2020): 234-237.

2020, Eubios Journal of Asian and International Bioethics
Top 3%769 Views77 Pages
This paper addresses an important issue with regard to the critical question of equality during a pandemic – are poor societies more vulnerable to public health emergencies? The available data with respect to the coronavirus crisis reveal that the majority of countries affected by the pandemic belong to the developed economies. This investigation determines the correlation between affluence and the spread of the contagion. It argues that the inequality among nations does not have any significant relation to disease movement, infection, and high mortality rate. However, addressing the problem of urbanization and investing in public health will be crucial in terms of confronting the socio-economic ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 Outbreak: Political, Economic and Social Repercussions

2020, In Depth
41 Pages
The issue aims to discuss the potential repercussions that the COVID-19 outbreak may bring about, in relation to the EU, the global economy, and international relations in general.