The flight to India

[varun]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1067344,00.html

The flight to India

The jobs Britain stole from the Asian subcontinent 200 years ago are now being returned

George Monbiot
Tuesday October 21, 2003
The Guardian

If you live in a rich nation in the English-speaking world, and most of your work involves a computer or a telephone, don't expect to have a job in five years' time. Almost every large company which relies upon remote transactions is starting to dump its workers and hire a cheaper labour force overseas. All those concerned about economic justice and the distribution of wealth at home should despair. All those concerned about global justice and the distribution of wealth around the world should rejoice. As we are, by and large, the same people, we have a problem.
Britain's industrialisation was secured by destroying the manufacturing capacity of India. In 1699, the British government banned the import of woollen cloth from Ireland, and in 1700 the import of cotton cloth (or calico) from India. Both products were forbidden because they were superior to our own. As the industrial revolution was built on the textiles industry, we could not have achieved our global economic dominance if we had let them in. Throughout the late 18th and 19th centuries, India was forced to supply raw materials to Britain's manufacturers, but forbidden to produce competing finished products. We are rich because the Indians are poor.

Now the jobs we stole 200 years ago are returning to India. Last week the Guardian revealed that the National Rail Enquiries service is likely to move to Bangalore, in south-west India. Two days later, the HSBC bank announced that it was cutting 4,000 customer service jobs in Britain and shifting them to Asia. BT, British Airways, Lloyds TSB, Prudential, Standard Chartered, Norwich Union, Bupa, Reuters, Abbey National and Powergen have already begun to move their call centres to India. The British workers at the end of the line are approaching the end of the line....



http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1067344,00.html

[theivoryqueen]

1. Yikes!

I totally support globalism and the sharing of Western wealth with the rest of the world. This puts me in an odd and uncomfortable position as it becomes clear that this "sharing" will personally affect my friends and neighbors (not to mention counry). What to do??

[AndyTiedye]

3. Bring Back the Clinton Economy

Then there will be plenty of jobs for Americans, Indians, and everyone else.
Remember what the job market was like in 1999?

I know that my employer started hiring in India, not as a cost-cutting measure,
but because they couldn't get enough engineers in the US.

Even with NO economic recovery in the US (i.e. Bush gets reSelected)
wages won't stay low in India for long.

[bemildred]

2. I guess we better stop Capitalism now, before WE get screwed.

[realFedUp]

4. Dupe thread inside Editorials

See:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=103&topic_id=17364

locking,
rfu, moderator