Busunju's Struggle for Survival

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/08A00BB2-CDDE-49F0-8B42-4419C68B85E6.htm?FRAMELESS=true&NRNODEGUID=%7b08A00BB2-CDDE-49F0-8B42-4419C68B85E6%7d

The above link is referred to throughout the following post.

Chapters three, four and seven of Thussu this week have provided a solid understanding of some of the key agreements that have led to globalization on a whole. He demonstrated how these have affected some of the largest companies and many key media forms.

I recently came across an article with accompanying videos, online on Al Jazeera. The videos (part I&II) present the town of Busunju, Uganda and its struggles in survival.1 I feel that this specific case study is a perfect example of how the development of globalization, as Thussu outlines it, has severely encumbered many developing nations.

It is outlined in the video that a multitude of Chinese products are available to the Busunju market. While this is great for the people of Busunju on a micro level, it has far greater consequences to their economy. One of the local teachers notes that there is no market for their goods (which are primarily agricultural) in a wider market and that they are unable to sell anything. This is only more frustrating with the Chinese taking up a large portion of the market. Here free trade has seriously affected the country’s ability to sustain themselves.

Thussu outlines amongst the discussion over privatization and liberalization that “…there was tension between the free marketeers and those who argued for a more regulated system to protect domestic markets and interests”.2 People of Busunju believe, in attempts to generate a solution for their town that prices should be fixed in order to create a better chance for their products to be sold. In contrast, the interviewee argues that the government’s perspective lies with the ideas of the ‘free market’, in which each good will find its buyer at an appropriately decided price. Otherwise, the product is not a viable commodity. Thussu’s statement is exemplified in this situation.

These theories may not necessarily work for a country that must compete with the demands of fair trade. Now, instead of being protected by the limits of a domestic market, they must compete on a global scale. Of which, agricultural products are not in high demand. Uganda needs to invest in its own market, or be invested in by the agricultural industry – this is difficult to do though, when there is no money available within the country, and none is being made in outside markets. While I don’t condone the activity at all, it is clearer now why sweatshops often provide somewhat of a salvation for many poor, developing countries. While not ethical by any means, these companies do help inject money into a country which has difficulty generating revenue of its own. In Busunju’s case, it seems as though with the conditions of the global economy, they have little solution but to be rescued out of extreme poverty.

This case study brings us back to the original discussion over the theories of international communication. I am tempted to believe more so in the ideas of dependency theory. Solutions for Busunju seem to lead to nothing other than a reliance on an outside means to provide rescue. I am beginning to believe more so in the idea that there is naturally a hierarchy that emerges among countries. I think this leads into the idea of nature vs. nurture and furthermore, what will become of nation states in the future. Is it truly a dog-eat-dog world, in which Uganda will continue to sink while other countries prosper? This brings into the debate, the idea of the nation state. Will the U.S and other dominant countries take smaller, less developed nations under their wing until eventually we are left with only as many countries as we can count on our fingers? If this is so, what about the notions of carrying capacity? The earth cannot sustain all countries to the same standard of living as the U.S for very long.

Overall, it seems as though the answers for a location like Busunju, Uganda are pretty limited and one can’t help but see through Thussu’s chapters that it is as a result of advancements in free trade, and the overall effects of globalization.

Endnotes

1. Al Jazeera. “Programmes: People and Power – The Village: Busunju.” Al Jazeera.net. http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/08A00BB2-CDDE-49F0-8B42-4419C68B85E6.htm?FRAMELESS=true&NRNODEGUID=%7b08A00BB2-CDDE-49F0-8B42-4419C68B85E6%7d (accessed January 30, 2008).

2. Thussu, Daya Kishan. International Communication: Continuity and Change. London: Hodder Education, 2006.