Monday, July 25, 2005
On the way to Tela I encountered the US economy
We went to Tela Beach about 4 weeks ago. A thought has not left me since.
The family took the local bus out of San Pedro Sula. It was our first real step away from the home and first step out of the city. There was nothing particularly special about the trip. All we knew was that we wanted to get away. I certainly did not think it would challenge my thinking about what I hear in the states. All I wanted to do was "get away".
Driving through Honduras is difficult. If you have been raised in the states and are used to middle class or upper middle class living then you are culturally conditioned to see relatively clean streets, mowed lawns, and well maintained cars. I also am quite conditioned to believe that all roads are paved.
This is not the case here. To have what we have in the states is due to strong infrastructure. Honduras is less able to keep up with the Jones.
As we drove through this beautiful country; a countryside that hosts rain forests, mountains hung with clouds, fields of corn, sugar cain and people. As we drove along we saw shacks and estates. We saw people building cement houses, people selling pineapple, people waiting for the bus, and people with nothing to do. There amongst all of this was the omnipresent reminder of our exported economy. What seemed like every fifteen feet stood an advertisement for Coke or Pepsi. Even as we drove through Progesso, a town begun some time ago to host industry, we saw a river overflowing its banks flooding out a shantitown. There in the middle of the river above the water was a billboard for Pepsi. Its brilliant blue the everpresent reminder of American industry. Interesting metaphor. The people of Honduras underwater. American business above it.
The fact is that American business is everywhere in Honduras. Coke, Pepsi, McDonald's, Friday's, Burger King, Shell, Radio Shack to name a few. Its good for the economy but, the question that came to the forefront as we drove out of Progresso was, for whom? American business in Honduras is helping whom?
I can't say where I heard it. I probably have heard countless times over the course of my life that American business is good because it provides jobs around the world. I would nod my head not really paying attention. It seems like a good idea. Certainly it must help those who are working there, doesn't it?
I began to think about Kentucky Fried Chicken. There is a huge Kentucky Fried Chicken in San Pedro that hosts a three floor play area. It's stunning really. What could be bad about that? As an individual business nothing. For putting out of business local restaurants, a lot. How many local businesses (and in Honduras that can mean a mother who cooks meals out of her house) can not compete with KFC? KFC can literally underprice smaller organizations and even take a loss for a period of time to close the doors of other businesses. I mean we see it in the states. Home Depot puts out of business the local hardware guy. Wallmart put clothing stores and grocery stores out of business. Barnes and Noble put out of business the local bookstore. It is simply the cost of doing business, right? The problem becomes compounded in a country like Honduras. Not only are businesses like KFC closing down smaller businesses in Honduras it then takes the profit that it makes and takes it out of the country. The money does not multiply by going back into the local economy. It gets siphoned off.
What shifted for me was my naivete about the goals of American business. What I began to see in my head was if our economy was a castle. Inside its walls is the king. Inside its walls are the craftsmen and women who keep it clean, fed, and protected. As a castle gains strength it often pushes its fortifications outward. It builds an outwall and post sentries. These sentries become the first line of defense to protect the castle. In an attack these sentries become expendable. Honduras is outpost. It shores up the economic castle that we created.
It's true that Honduras benefits from American Business. It benefits from foreign investment. These things in of themselves are not wrong. What I see more clearly is that we must not forget who benefits from American business. It is America. Let us not blindly believe that we're assisting the development of other economies.
It's economic colonialism. It smacks of exploitation.
As a Christian I am forced to consider if it is just...
Link
The family took the local bus out of San Pedro Sula. It was our first real step away from the home and first step out of the city. There was nothing particularly special about the trip. All we knew was that we wanted to get away. I certainly did not think it would challenge my thinking about what I hear in the states. All I wanted to do was "get away".
Driving through Honduras is difficult. If you have been raised in the states and are used to middle class or upper middle class living then you are culturally conditioned to see relatively clean streets, mowed lawns, and well maintained cars. I also am quite conditioned to believe that all roads are paved.
This is not the case here. To have what we have in the states is due to strong infrastructure. Honduras is less able to keep up with the Jones.
As we drove through this beautiful country; a countryside that hosts rain forests, mountains hung with clouds, fields of corn, sugar cain and people. As we drove along we saw shacks and estates. We saw people building cement houses, people selling pineapple, people waiting for the bus, and people with nothing to do. There amongst all of this was the omnipresent reminder of our exported economy. What seemed like every fifteen feet stood an advertisement for Coke or Pepsi. Even as we drove through Progesso, a town begun some time ago to host industry, we saw a river overflowing its banks flooding out a shantitown. There in the middle of the river above the water was a billboard for Pepsi. Its brilliant blue the everpresent reminder of American industry. Interesting metaphor. The people of Honduras underwater. American business above it.
The fact is that American business is everywhere in Honduras. Coke, Pepsi, McDonald's, Friday's, Burger King, Shell, Radio Shack to name a few. Its good for the economy but, the question that came to the forefront as we drove out of Progresso was, for whom? American business in Honduras is helping whom?
I can't say where I heard it. I probably have heard countless times over the course of my life that American business is good because it provides jobs around the world. I would nod my head not really paying attention. It seems like a good idea. Certainly it must help those who are working there, doesn't it?
I began to think about Kentucky Fried Chicken. There is a huge Kentucky Fried Chicken in San Pedro that hosts a three floor play area. It's stunning really. What could be bad about that? As an individual business nothing. For putting out of business local restaurants, a lot. How many local businesses (and in Honduras that can mean a mother who cooks meals out of her house) can not compete with KFC? KFC can literally underprice smaller organizations and even take a loss for a period of time to close the doors of other businesses. I mean we see it in the states. Home Depot puts out of business the local hardware guy. Wallmart put clothing stores and grocery stores out of business. Barnes and Noble put out of business the local bookstore. It is simply the cost of doing business, right? The problem becomes compounded in a country like Honduras. Not only are businesses like KFC closing down smaller businesses in Honduras it then takes the profit that it makes and takes it out of the country. The money does not multiply by going back into the local economy. It gets siphoned off.
What shifted for me was my naivete about the goals of American business. What I began to see in my head was if our economy was a castle. Inside its walls is the king. Inside its walls are the craftsmen and women who keep it clean, fed, and protected. As a castle gains strength it often pushes its fortifications outward. It builds an outwall and post sentries. These sentries become the first line of defense to protect the castle. In an attack these sentries become expendable. Honduras is outpost. It shores up the economic castle that we created.
It's true that Honduras benefits from American Business. It benefits from foreign investment. These things in of themselves are not wrong. What I see more clearly is that we must not forget who benefits from American business. It is America. Let us not blindly believe that we're assisting the development of other economies.
It's economic colonialism. It smacks of exploitation.
As a Christian I am forced to consider if it is just...
Link
