STRANGE BEDFELLOWS
Human rights and U.S. multinational corporations are traditionally considered unlikely bedfellows. By nature, firms are not in the business of promoting human rights abroad, and advocates of human rights have typically disdained corporations rather than embracing them. When Washington has pursued a human rights agenda, U.S. firms have historically been little more than the awkward instrument of U.S. policy: their activities are denied to rogue states as retribution for human rights abuses.
But perhaps there is another way to think about multinational involvement. In some cases and industries, the natural impact of U.S. firms may well be to hinder the development of human rights. Sometimes multinationals funnel capital to repressive states or abuse the labor force they find at their disposal. Sometimes their presence cements the power of dictators or helps suppress opposition groups. Earlier this century, for example, United Fruit helped mastermind a coup in Guatemala; ITT played a key role in overthrowing the popularly elected government of Salvador Allende in Chile; and U.S. mining and oil companies forged cozy relationships with dictatorial regimes across Africa. But overall and empirically there is little to suggest that U.S. investment is inherently bad for human rights in the developing world. If anything, the available evidence indicates that the presence of U.S. multinationals usually corresponds to an improvement in human rights. This relationship certainly does not prove that U.S. investment causes human rights to be more respected, but neither does it give any credence to predictions of exploitation and malfeasance. Investment by U.S. firms may well help move human rights in a positive direction.
It would be absurd to advocate investment by U.S. firms as a panacea for the human rights abuses that pepper the globe. A multitude of ills can only be addressed through diplomacy, persuasion, or sometimes force. But there are things that multinationals, especially U.S. multinationals, can do. Simply by following their own interests, they may influence the local environment in positive ways. They bring jobs, capital, technology, know-how, management techniques, labor relations, and administrative structures that are unlikely to depart too dramatically from U.S. standards. These working standards will nearly always be higher than those that prevail in the local developing economy.
Finally, U.S. multinationals bring with them the glare of public scrutiny and the changes it can induce in an increasingly global marketplace. When local producers in Vietnam, Pakistan, or Honduras exploit their work force, few in the West hear of it, especially if the products are not exported to Western markets. But when those same producers become suppliers to Reebok, Levi Strauss, or Walt Disney, their actions make headlines in the United States. Changing their behavior becomes, increasingly, a bottom-line concern of Reebok, Levi Strauss, and Disney.
Under these circumstances, the old Leninist link between multinational firms and foreign exploitation seems outmoded or even contradictory. Rather than having an interest in subverting human rights, corporations-particularly high-profile firms from open and democratic societies-may well see the commercial benefits of promoting human rights. It is ironic, and certainly not obvious. But in a world marked by international media and transnational activism, U.S. multinationals could be-indeed, may already be-a powerful instrument in the pursuit of human rights
เป็นคู่หูแปลกสิทธิมนุษยชนและองค์กรข้ามชาติของสหรัฐอเมริกาซึ่งถือเป็นคู่หูไม่น่า โดยธรรมชาติ บริษัทไม่ได้อยู่ในธุรกิจที่ส่งเสริมสิทธิมนุษยชนต่างประเทศ และสนับสนุนสิทธิมนุษยชนโดยทั่วไปมีดูถูกองค์กรแทนที่กอดพวกเขา เมื่อวอชิงตันได้ดำเนินประชุมสิทธิมนุษยชน บริษัทสหรัฐฯ ประวัติมีน้อยวัดนโยบายสหรัฐอเมริกาตกใจ: กิจกรรมของพวกเขาถูกปฏิเสธการอันธพาลอเมริกาเป็นลงโทษสำหรับการละเมิดสิทธิมนุษยชนBut perhaps there is another way to think about multinational involvement. In some cases and industries, the natural impact of U.S. firms may well be to hinder the development of human rights. Sometimes multinationals funnel capital to repressive states or abuse the labor force they find at their disposal. Sometimes their presence cements the power of dictators or helps suppress opposition groups. Earlier this century, for example, United Fruit helped mastermind a coup in Guatemala; ITT played a key role in overthrowing the popularly elected government of Salvador Allende in Chile; and U.S. mining and oil companies forged cozy relationships with dictatorial regimes across Africa. But overall and empirically there is little to suggest that U.S. investment is inherently bad for human rights in the developing world. If anything, the available evidence indicates that the presence of U.S. multinationals usually corresponds to an improvement in human rights. This relationship certainly does not prove that U.S. investment causes human rights to be more respected, but neither does it give any credence to predictions of exploitation and malfeasance. Investment by U.S. firms may well help move human rights in a positive direction.It would be absurd to advocate investment by U.S. firms as a panacea for the human rights abuses that pepper the globe. A multitude of ills can only be addressed through diplomacy, persuasion, or sometimes force. But there are things that multinationals, especially U.S. multinationals, can do. Simply by following their own interests, they may influence the local environment in positive ways. They bring jobs, capital, technology, know-how, management techniques, labor relations, and administrative structures that are unlikely to depart too dramatically from U.S. standards. These working standards will nearly always be higher than those that prevail in the local developing economy.Finally, U.S. multinationals bring with them the glare of public scrutiny and the changes it can induce in an increasingly global marketplace. When local producers in Vietnam, Pakistan, or Honduras exploit their work force, few in the West hear of it, especially if the products are not exported to Western markets. But when those same producers become suppliers to Reebok, Levi Strauss, or Walt Disney, their actions make headlines in the United States. Changing their behavior becomes, increasingly, a bottom-line concern of Reebok, Levi Strauss, and Disney.Under these circumstances, the old Leninist link between multinational firms and foreign exploitation seems outmoded or even contradictory. Rather than having an interest in subverting human rights, corporations-particularly high-profile firms from open and democratic societies-may well see the commercial benefits of promoting human rights. It is ironic, and certainly not obvious. But in a world marked by international media and transnational activism, U.S. multinationals could be-indeed, may already be-a powerful instrument in the pursuit of human rights
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