Tuesday, October 27, 2009

The Chicken Factory

Today in class we discussed a philosopher who I have studied in a few other classes at Rhodes, Karl Marx. Marx argues that Capitalism has forced laborers to accept the lowest wages possible due to competition. The 'army of unemployed', or reserve of laborers, are waiting to take any available job and willing to work for cheaper, enforcing the idea that laborers are a tradable commodity. The division between the bourgeoise and proletariat classes grows larger every day that laborers are forced to work for the lowest possible wage. There is a Tyson Foods poultry-production factory in Springdale, Arkansas that should have Marx turning in his grave. Sociologist Steve Striffler applied for a job at the Tyson Foods factory, which predominately employs Mexican immigrants who cannot speak English, to examine the treatment of employees. Striffler was one of the only American employees at the company that was not in an upper level position. The cultural difference between the laborers and their bosses just heightens the misunderstanding between the two groups. In the factory he witnessed the daily horrors which the employees were faced with on the 'assembly line'. The laborers work fifteen hour days, with little hope of moving up in the company. At one point there is company downsizing, and the remaining laborers are forced to compensate for the cut employees. After these reductions Striffler finds himself working two jobs on the assembly line, but still receiving the same pathetic wage. The Capitalistic mantra of maximum speed and maximum efficiency is drilled into all the workers minds, and when a machine breaks down the employees suffer. Also, the employees are not alerted when changes to a machine's speed is made, and find out when they are unable to keep up with the faster pace. At the end of a hard day, the laborers are given boxes of fried chicken, the very product they were making, as a reward. Striffler mentions that none of the employees want to eat the chicken, but really have no choice because they cannot afford to throw away free food. All of the events that the employees of the chicken factory encounter reinforce Marx's theory of alienation. When humans 'sell their labor' to work in unforgiving conditions, for the lowest pay, they lose themselves. Their alienation with the final product is shown by their repulsion to the free fried chicken, which they helped prepare by slaughtering, bredding , injecting chemicals into and frying the meat. It is articles like Striffler's that make me skeptical of Capitalism. Yes, it can have it's positive points, but the negatives seem to be a black cloud looming over the system. Nobody in the workforce should have to toil in the conditions that those in the Tyson Chicken Factory do. Their employees work in unforgiving conditions for fifteen hours a day, which is not exactly the American Dream. The laborers of the Tyson Chicken Factory reside in America, but do not seem to actually be a part of it, since they are stuck as second class citizens in the proletariat class.


3 comments:

  1. There definitely seems to be a cycle in place in many capitalistic countries that keeps the lower classes at subsistence level and does not offer upward mobility to them. With parents working all the time, there is little guidance and encouragement available for their children. I have begun tutoring at the Refugee Empowerment Program, and this has really opened my eyes to how the educational system very easily leaves many bright kids behind. When the parents have little time to help push their kids, it is all too easy for them to fall to the wayside.

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  2. While the employment situation described in this post is clearly imperfect, I would argue that gainful vocation even at low wages is inherently positive. An employment contract is simply an agreement between two entities regarding the exchange of money for goods/services. In order for such a contract to exist, both parties must be satisfied with the predetermined specifics of the arrangement. So, even though an entry level position at the Tyson Factory is unappealing to me, it is obviously desirable to some. While one could argue that capitalism allows for the existence of a class system (which it does), it is incorrect to assume that an individuals' place in such a structure is determined entirely by an oppressive bourgeoise. While Virginia is correct in noting the self-perpetuating nature of poverty, it is important to remember that upward mobility is often possible despite the presence of impediments.

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  3. Adam-
    I disagree with the idea that a job with low wages could be positive. People who take jobs like the one at the factory usually take them out of desperation, not because the terms of the agreement seem satisfactory.These sorts of jobs are pursued by immigrants because they eventually realize that they will not be hired for any other job but one that is dehumanizing and alienating.

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