Essay (Final Draft)

The Dark Side of Globalisation

Being one of the most successful species on this Earth, mankind has taken its social capabilities to a whole new level. Since the very beginning, mankind has always been seeking one another in distant places in search of better life (Chanda, 2008). This interaction has enabled the transfer of beneficial knowledge and thus mankind as a species has progressed. Shortly after, technologies soon developed allowing communication with faraway places easily. Globalisation has resulted in the world to be an intricate interconnected network. Yet this triumph does have its shortcomings as well. Amidst all this positivity that globalisation brings, it has its fair share of problems. Wars and conflicts have always existed since the ancient times and despite the progress globalisation brings, it has not reduced nor prevented further conflicts. Ironically, there are examples of globalization-induced wars (Bauman, 2001) where the fruits of progress are fuelling conflicts in other parts of the world such as Africa. One such case is the issue of conflict minerals in Congo. Fortunately, the world has realised this and has various measures put in place. For example, ‘Enough Project’ brings awareness to the consumers while companies themselves have joined the Public Private Alliance on Responsible Minerals Trade to reduce the consumption of conflict minerals.

The issue of conflict-minerals is very well known with several countries in Africa known to export these ‘blood minerals’ notably, Democratic Republic of Congo (Sutter, 2012). A conflict mineral is defined as “columbite-tantalite (coltan), cassiterite, gold, wolframite, or their derivatives; or any other mineral or its derivatives determined by the U.S. Secretary of State to be financing conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (“DRC”) or an adjoining country.” (Reform, 2011) Congo has been torn over the possession of precious minerals tantalum, tin, gold and tungsten which are used frequently in many of our IT devices including mobile devices (Raise Hope for Congo, 2013). These highly sought minerals have fuelled the need to possess them and brought conflicts to the nation. Armed groups aiming to earn high profit from the sale and export of such precious minerals has left the country ravaged. They hold workers at gunpoint forcing them to work cheaply or with no pay at all (Sutter, 2012).

In the highly globalized world of today, many powerful global brands highly influence the choices and way of life of many consumers in the world. Many corporations influence the general populace by creating brands and therefore attaining consumer support. Yet most consumers are concerned if the products they buy have issues surrounding ethical corporate behaviour. Consumers will make changes to their purchasing habits against errant corporations (Creyer, 1997). The number one brand in the Forbes list, Apple Inc. (Forbes, 2012) has been found to make use of such conflict minerals in its devices. It has resulted in many consumers unknowingly supporting the bloodshed in the conflict-torn Congo. The unintended global support for more conflict minerals, has generated billions in revenue from the sale of Apple devices while plunging Congo further down the depths of conflict.

Fortunately, not the entire world has been ignorant of this issue. Efforts have been made to counter the export and consumption of blood minerals. ‘Enough Project’ aims to bring awareness to the masses and aims to discourage big corporations from utilising ‘conflict-minerals’ ( Lezhnev, 2013). Consumers are made aware and will be trusted to make the responsible choice of not supporting companies and brands that are adamant in still using the ‘blood-minerals’ in their products and devices (Creyer, 1997).

Companies have also pledged to contribute in a global concerted effort. Apple Inc. has joined the Public Private Alliance on Responsible Minerals Trade and is one of the many corporations alongside governments and civil societies ( Lezhnev, 2013). This will ensure the minerals attained are ‘clean’ and therefore reduce the globalised need for the ‘conflict-minerals’. Thus hopefully, these will end the conflicts that have arisen in the Democratic Republic of Congo as the result of such minerals. Although many corporations have pledged against the consumption of the ‘conflict-minerals’, there will only be real significance when all industry players are involved. Nintendo, for example, has lagged behind in all procedures to reduce the consumption of such minerals and is ranked the lowest (Raise Hope for Congo, 2013). Unlike major corporations, like Apple Inc., HP and Intel, Nintendo lack clear verification procedures for non-compliance and is still not part of the conflict-free smelter program (“Nintendo slammed over ‘blood chemicals’,” 2013).

In conclusion, although the problem has been reduced with the various measures and legislations in place, it cannot be denied that globalization was what initiated and fuelled the conflicts in the first place. The global need for the minerals by multinational corporations, resulted in the purchase of such minerals from conflict-laden sources as mentioned. Tempted by the large profits obtained from the sale and export of the minerals has fuelled the conflicts further over the ownership of the mines. The measures and legislation were put in place to protect Congo from further conflict and ensure corporations obtained their resources from conflict-free sources. Yet it remains to be seen if the problem can be completely eradicated when there exists such companies as Nintendo that have yet to show their fullest support for the conflict-free cause.

References:

Bauman, Z. (2001). Wars of the Globalization Era. European Journal of Social Theory, 4(1), 11–28. doi:10.1177/13684310122224966

Chanda, N. (2008). Runaway globalization without governance. Global Governance: A Review of Multilateralism …, 14, 119–125. Retrieved from http://journals.rienner.com/doi/pdf/10.5555/ggov.2008.14.2.119

Creyer, E. H. (1997). The influence of firm behavior on purchase intention: do consumers really care about business ethics? Journal of Consumer Marketing, 14(6), 421–432. doi:10.1108/07363769710185999

Forbes. 2012. The World's Most Powerful Brands List. [online] Available at: http://www.forbes.com/powerful-brands/list/ [Accessed: 3 Nov 2013].

Lezhnev, S. 2013. Apple Makes New Pledges on Conflict Minerals, Should Begin Clean Congo Sourcing Program | Enough Project. [online] Available at: http://www.enoughproject.org/blogs/apple-new-pledges-conflict-minerals-clean-congo [Accessed: 3 Nov 2013].

Nintendo slammed over “blood chemicals.” (2013, June 26). Fox News. Retrieved from http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2013/06/26/nintendo-slammed-over-blood-chemicals/

Raise Hope for Congo. 2013. Conflict Minerals | RAISE Hope for Congo. [online] Available at: http://www.raisehopeforcongo.org/content/initiatives/conflict-minerals [Accessed: 3 Nov 2013].

Raise Hope for Congo. 2013. Conflict Minerals Company Rankings | Raise Hope for Congo. [online] Available at: http://www.raisehopeforcongo.org/content/conflict-minerals-company-rankings [Accessed: 3 Nov 2013].

Reform, W. S. (2011). Conflict minerals. Journal of Chemical Health and Safety, 18(1), 49–50. doi:10.1016/j.jchas.2010.10.004

Sutter, J. 2012. Tech companies make progress on 'blood phones' and 'conflict minerals'. CNN, [online] 16th August. Available at: http://www.cnn.com.sg/2012/08/16/tech/gaming-gadgets/congo-blood-phones-report/index.html [Accessed: 3 Oct 2013].