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Where the Thread Starts: Power Imbalance in the Textile Industry
Where the Thread Starts: Power Imbalance in the Textile Industry
The textile industry in the U.S. has always been a source of great revenue for the country. Corporations in America have constantly looked to increase revenue by using cheaper materials, methods, and labour. They’ve undermined pre-existing workforces to take advantage of workforces in vulnerable places looking for any economic stimulus for those already at the top. Stephen Kinzer’s book Overthrow: America’s Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq deals with American imperialism in the 20th century. Although he uses examples of the U.S. directly overthrowing foreign governments his argument that intervention with foreign countries is to benefit the U.S. by earning it power or resources or by changing others’ ideologies can be applied to the textile industry in the U.S. The behavior of these U.S. corporations supports and is supported by American capitalism which is influenced by colonialism.