Nescafé, Anyone?
Michael B. Barkey
October 1, 2001
It's easy to overlook the moral implications of seemingly unimportant decisions, such as which cup of coffee to buy. But when we look beyond the waiter in the coffee shop and begin to see the thousands of other people around the globe who contribute to making the cup of coffee he serves, potentially serious moral questions arise. What obligations do we have toward our neighbor—however distant—who labors to provide for our needs? How should the welfare of another impact our own decisions in the marketplace? When our decisions affect different people in different ways, some for the better and some for the worse, how should we resolve that quandary? But before examining these fundamental moral questions, it's important to have a clear grasp of the facts. And in the case of coffee and the situation of farmers in Chiapas, it's especially important to understand the case for human freedom in the economic sphere—the case for free trade and the globalization of markets. Free trade starts with the premise that when people voluntarily engage each other in trade, each party to the transaction leaves better off. Since the values and needs of individuals are different, in an economic exchange both parties are able to trade something they consider of lesser economic value for something they consider of greater economic value. The process of exchange thus efficiently allocates scarce resources to where they are of most value to people, creating wealth and helping to satisfy changing human needs. If this premise is true, then the expansion of trade between people of different countries—the globalization of markets—should improve the material well-being of people everywhere. So is this theory supported by the facts? Colgate University economist ...
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