11th grade Economics paper on the WTO

[Joan in GE]

I've already pointed out that he needs a summary paragraph at the end instead of including it under his last point and that he needs to put in his sources. But my economics knowledge is limited so any help is appreciated. I'm more concerned about content than grammar.

 

Thanks - Joan

 

 

Economics Essay

 

Protest Groups' Views of the World Trade Organization (WTO)

 

No WTO summit since its foundation in 1995 has been held without large protests outside the meetings as well as frequent disagreements and disruptions inside. At the Seattle Ministerial Conference of 1999, the factions were evident: large group of protesters –ranging from 50,000 to 100,000 people depending on media source– comprised labor unions, groups representing indigenous peoples, environmentalists, farmers, and socialists marched outside, and the developed and the developing countries taking part could not even agree on an agenda. Why does the WTO stir so much controversy? There are so many competing interests that it would be best to examine each case individually.

 

Developing countries

In general, developing countries feel misled by the WTO. They feel sidelined by the powerful industrialized nations that make private green room deals. They find that their presence is only a façade for the organization to appear democratic. Their dissatisfaction manifested itself clearly in the Seattle talks in 1999 and the Cancun talks in 2005, when delegates from Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean walked out. “There is nothing for us small countries in this proposal. We don't want any of this,'' said a representative from Jamaica. Europe and the US, they felt would not lower their $300 billion agricultural subsidies enough to help the poor farmers in developing countries. The industrialized countries continue to dump their crops in poor countries –even selling at prices less than the cost of production. Many traditional farmers in India and South Korea have committed suicide because the WTO’s policies bankrupted them, they said. Even today, decisions are not made by voting but by general consensus. The actual negotiations are done by groups of countries in informal meetings that many times do not include developing nations. The 2008 negotiations in Geneva broke down yet again. India, with a hundred other countries, argued that the US and Europe have put millions of poor farmers out of business because their markets were inundated with Western commodities. In many negotiations, they feel that issues important to them are pushed aside in order to talk about issues important to the developed world.

For the developing countries, the WTO represents a business venture that can also be expensive, besides unfruitful. The poorer members countries can only finance one or two permanent delegates who are soon overwhelmed with the many meetings contrary to richer countries that can maintain large cohorts of negotiators, and the many rounds of unproductive talks also add costs. Resolving trade disputes frequently requires more resources than these countries can amass. To prepare their positions, they have to read many, many documents that soon overwhelm them.

 

Labor unions

Labor unions protest the WTO because free trade increases the flight of jobs to countries with cheaper labor, but at the same time with dismal work conditions and few human rights. Because higher costs of better labor standards and recognized human rights would increase the cost of the goods and services produced, countries that scorn these issues would have a comparative trade advantage. So, conclude the unions, either jobs would drain away to these states, or the ethical countries would have to debase themselves to remain competitive as workers in the other countries languished in terrible job environments –setting off a race to the bottom. "The negative downward spiral of lower standards will continue, as governments compete against each other for foreign investment by offering cheaper labor, tax breaks and other concessions," stated the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFCU). But developing countries, on the other hand, are against labor standards which they see as protectionism.

 

Indigenous people

 

Indigenous ethnic groups, who have subsisted on the outermost fringes of civilization for centuries, nonetheless find themselves thrown in the middle of the modern age arena of global competition. The reason: they occupy perhaps the last islands of virgin soil, the last bastions of natural resources, fought for by multinational corporations (MNCs). These are what the indigenous groups fear. With the liberalization of investments by the WTO, large mining or oil multinationals can easily implant themselves in the native territories, and frequently, they do not respect the environment nor the tribes that live off it. Many times, once a source is depleted, the corporations move out leaving permanently scarred and polluted land. Even from across oceans, MNCs could disrupt the indigenous sustainable ways of life. The indigenous farmers would be bankrupted by the flood of cheap foreign crops and animals from huge commercial plantations. The native people also denounce the dumping of junk food on the market, as well as other goods that soon replace their unique and valuable cultural heritages. Finally, the protection of intellectual rights by WTO has imperiled the biological diversity that allows these groups to thrive and increased their plight as local plants are patented by the industrialized nations. In summary, indigenous groups feel their cultural identity, their livelihood, and even their existence are threatened by the WTO.

 

Environmentalists

The WTO encourages the destruction of the biosphere, the environmentalists say. They claim the WTO does not regulate ecological, sustainable practices. This deregulation would spur countries and companies to disregard the environment in pursuing the maximum amount of profit. Increased competition for scarce resources will not help as companies try to extract the most in the least amount of time, ordinarily in using wasteful and polluting methods. The environmentalists add that WTO would additionally encourage consumerism. Trade liberalization would encourage consumer countries to consume and emerging countries to produce as goods became cheaper from comparative advantages. More trade --large growth in the transportation of products around the world-- would augment pollution.

 

Socialists

The WTO stands for globalization, according to them, and globalization is the purest form of deregulated capitalism, their arch-enemy. The WTO, they believe, will increase inequalities rather than reduce them as small businesses are swallowed up by gigantic multinationals. They also share the trade unions’ views and think that the inequalities should be reduced between the North and the South which they see as exploited and stunted by the North.

Yet others deem the methods the WTO uses to resolve trade disagreements as unfair with the deliberations held behind closed doors by a handful of powerful insiders. These critics also view the overturning of rulings by consensus of all the members as threatening to national sovereignty[ii]. All together, the protest groups share only one opinion –that the WTO is biased, even though they cannot agree whether the organization is inclined to the industrialized countries, or to developing countries, or to another party.

 

 

 

 

http://www.ifg.org/programs/indig.htm

 

[ii] http://www.speakeasy.org/~peterc/wtow/wto-disp.htm

Edited February 18, 2011 by Joan in Geneva
faulty fonts

[Amy in TX]

Sorry, I can't evaluate the content either. But it certainly sounds well-informed and clearly written. Getting this much out of my dd is like pulling teeth! :)

[Guest Researching]

It is the responsibility of the 11th grader who wrote this to properly cite all of the information in this paper. This paper needs parenthetical citation, a works cited page and a bibliography. Using those things, you would be able to evaluate the content of this paper. Without proper citation this paper is either plagiarised, a work of fiction or both.

 

I think that it is great that you have assigned a researched argument paper in 11th grade. I also think it's truly wonderful that your child wrote with obvious interest in the subject. It's clear that the author has an opinion.

 

Having said that, once the citation issue is addressed, which quite frankly is the most important thing at this point, I have a few recommendations:

 

1. The thesis statement should be more developed. I understand that the author thinks that the WTO should be doing something differently, I'm just not sure what. It's not clear. Be more specific. The thesis statement ends up begging another question by asking "Why does the WTO stir so much controversy?" Instead, say "The WTO creates unnecessary controversy by....." Make a statement of fact. Otherwise readers could think "Hmm, I don't know. Maybe the WTO isn't causing controversy."

 

2. The body of the paper should tie in with the thesis statement more.

 

3. The tone of this paper is very abrasive and opinionated. There could be interesting ideas in this paper, but the "know-it-all" tone puts whomever is reading this on the defensive. Writing an argument essay is all about knowing your audience.

 

4. Acknowledge opposing viewpoints to establish credibility.

 

5. Curb run-ons to avoid confusion.

 

 

 

Hope that helps.

Edited February 19, 2011 by Researching

[Joan in GE]

Researching -

 

First thank you so much for reading and commenting on this paper! (thank you Amy too)

 

Second, I'll show the comments to my son about the citations. One problem he ran into was that he was reading secondary sources, what people said about why people were protesting. This really bothered him because he wanted primary sources. But part of it is that some of the people, for example "indigenous people", do not have computer access or should I say - haven't build web pages about their views, or if they have, they are not easy to find.

 

Third, I should have included the initial instructions for this paper...Since we live in the city where the WTO is headquartered and occasionally see the protesters, I wanted him to be aware of what they are or could be protesting. So it was only meant as an informational essay, not as an argumentative essay.

 

I'm wondering if the tone that you pick up is from him or from the people in the different groups that he writes about? I'll have to discuss it with him.

 

I'm afraid the interest is mine more than his. I wanted to know what they are protesting.

 

Thanks again!

Joan

[1Togo]

Joan,

 

We can all see this forum isn't exactly flooded with posts. Writing is a hurdle in many homeschools, as evidenced by the hundreds of posts on the subject, and most families are struggling with all or parts of the writing process. FWIW, I think you and your son were brave to post his paper.

 

Researching is correct that the paper needs documentation, and I would suggest buying your son the current MLA handbook and requiring him to use it with all his writing if he is writing a paper using outside resources. That will reduce the stress of getting a English 101 prof who turns all papers into a citation service. This happened to our son, and he was one of the few students who did not receive a stern warning about the consequences of plagarism. Then, require your son to develop his "Works Cited" during the notetaking part of his writing. I have found that energy and interest are usually waning by the end of the paper, so putting together the Works Cited is wearisome at that point. Also, there are directions in the handbook for citing secondary sources.

 

Your son could go several directions for revising this paper, but in addition to documentation, reworking the first paragraph will go a long way to polishing the piece. I would rework the first sentence so it does not begin with the word, "No..." Instead, he could write something like this: "Since 1995, all World Trade Organization summits have been marked by frequent disagreements..." Since this paper seems informative rather than persuasive, he could conclude his first paragraph with something like this: "The controversy surrounding the WTO can be traced to the wide range of competing interests."

 

In addition to making suggestions for revision, be sure to point out what works.

Edited February 19, 2011 by 1Togo

[Joan in GE]

Getting this much out of my dd is like pulling teeth! :)

 

I forgot to tell you that this was like pulling teeth!

 

He turned in this one page paper at first and I told him that he was getting an F. Since I've never said that before, it was a bit of a shock. So he buckled down but it took forever - or felt like it. But I was determined that he produce a paper with more than the original.

 

Thanks for commenting!

Joan

[Joan in GE]

FWIW, I think you and your son were brave to post his paper.

 

Researching is correct that the paper needs documentation, and I would suggest buying your son the current MLA handbook and requiring him to use it with all his writing if he is writing a paper using outside resources. That will reduce the stress of getting a English 101 prof who turns all papers into a citation service. This happened to our son, and he was one of the few students who did not receive a stern warning about the consequences of plagarism. Then, require your son to develop his "Works Cited" during the notetaking part of his writing. I have found that energy and interest are usually waning by the end of the paper, so putting together the Works Cited is wearisome at that point. Also, there are directions in the handbook for citing secondary sources.

 

Your son could go several directions for revising this paper, but in addition to documentation, reworking the first paragraph will go a long way to polishing the piece. I would rework the first sentence so it does not begin with the word, "No..." Instead, he could write something like this: "Since 1995, all World Trade Organization summits have been marked by frequent disagreements..." Since this paper seems informative rather than persuasive, he could conclude his first paragraph with something like this: "The controversy surrounding the WTO can be traced to the wide range of competing interests."

 

In addition to making suggestions for revision, be sure to point out what works.

 

Togo,

 

Thank you for your observations and suggestions, as well as your sensitivity.:001_smile:

 

I appreciate the real life concept of the 101 prof to help him realize the seriousness of it. And it is true that in the modern day world, plagiarism is a real problem. So he should realize that he has his reputation to protect through using citations.

 

And thank you for the concrete suggestions for revision!

Joan

[Guest Researching]

I believe the way that you would cite these quotations would be as indirect sources. So you'd say "blah blah blah, blah blah blah" (qtd. in articleblahblah). Articleblahblah would have a full citation in your works cited page.

 

At least that is how I would do it.

[Joan in GE]

I believe the way that you would cite these quotations would be as indirect sources. So you'd say "blah blah blah, blah blah blah" (qtd. in articleblahblah). Articleblahblah would have a full citation in your works cited page.

 

 

So his excuse is that he did not know I was going to put it on the net.:glare:

 

Thanks for the support,

Joan

[Julie in MN]

I think your son, himself, can also be an original source, in terms of saying that *he* sees the protests and *he* observes placards with multiple views. For those of us over here in Minnesota, his own direct observations would be valid enough support for me, personally, in some of the cases. It would answer the question raised by Researching: "Hmm, I don't know. Maybe the WTO isn't causing controversy." It would clarify what controversy he was going to research.

 

What a cool opportunity! Well worth the time, I think.

Julie

[Joan in GE]

I think your son, himself, can also be an original source, in terms of saying that *he* sees the protests and *he* observes placards with multiple views.

 

Good idea. There should be an "out-of-the-box thinking" smiley - that could go here.

 

It would also be more personal with real-life experience.

 

Thanks!

Joan