Public Administration Ethics Globalization Without

Public Administration Ethics Globalization

Without a doubt, the Industrial Revolution improved the lives of millions throughout much of the civilized world. Textile mills provided affordable clothing, electricity illuminated cities for the first time, and mechanized factories evolved into the production lines pioneered by innovators like Henry Ford by the turn of the twentieth century. Some of the negative consequences of these improvements of modernity included the exploitation of children in the workforce, sanitation needs that far exceeded capabilities of the time period, and unregulated industrial pollution as early byproducts of modern industrialized society.

The twentieth century also saw fundamental changes in the regulation of American industry in the form of child labor laws and pollution control, among others, to mitigate the societal damage linked to the advancements and life improvements made possible by industrial developments. By the end of the twentieth century, many benefits of the Western World's industrial society had trickled down to less developed regions of the world, along with their negative consequences.

The age of modern globalization has accelerated progress throughout parts of the world that were relatively unaffected by the first two hundred years of industrial development in the Western World, giving rise to certain moral obligations not to ignore some of the same detrimental consequences that have been solved through legislation in this part of the world (United Nations, 2000).

As the differential in economic conditions of nations and living standards of people increased between the so-called "haves" and the "have-nots" increased, a situation rose that made cheap labor in less developed parts of the world available to corporate industry from the wealthier nations. As a result, many American businesses exported the production of goods to impoverished parts of the world to benefit from the lower cost of labor. In this sense, globalization represented an obvious benefit to American industry, but at great cost to some of the workers who toiled away in conditions reminiscent of the first century of industrialized society in this part of the world. Several high profile instances (such as the conditions in which foreign workers produced American athletic wear) in the late twentieth century highlighted the need for governmental regulation in already) industrialized society to prevent exporting child labor exploitation and industrial pollution along with the opportunity for employment to parts of the world where economic conditions make even the most difficult and potentially dangerous work an attractive option to perpetual unemployment and starvation (Hollender, 1990).