Since mercantilism, which began in the mid 1600s, there have been numerous systemic changes in the global trading system. The most significant changes have been colonialism, the slave trade, peasant enclosures, industrialization and the formation of global economic institutions. Each one of these has had a marked effect on the distribution of resources and the wealth generated from their manufacture. Mercantilism, a theory related to trade and commerce, brought about intense competition amongst Northern countries in order to secure markets and resources. Colonialism was a way of assuring traders access to both primary resources and overseas markets in Southern countries. This pattern of trading whereby Southern countries provide the raw resources for the benefit of those in the North is still relevant, and has contributed significantly to divisions in wealth between the hemispheres. By the early 1800's mercantilists posed a threat to the aristocratic classes, which found themselves land rich but money poor. This, along with the growing movement towards industrialization, led to the eviction of peasants from land they had lived on for centuries. Two sources of cheap labour became available. Peasants who were desperate to find work in order to survive, and those deemed to be slaves from the developing world. Their labour was used to clear land for cultivation and for factory work. This combination of cheap labour and access to primary resources from the South enabled Northern countries to forge ahead with the industrialization of their economies. The year 1944 was an important year for global trading. Three institutions, namely the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the General Agreement on Tarriffs and Trade (GATT) were formed shortly thereafter. These international organisations would help solidify globally the ideology of laissez -faire economics. They would also play a direct role in influencing Southern governments to reduce trade barriers. It is claimed by critics that the IMF, the World Bank and GATT have used their power to uphold policies which have pried open Southern economies for the gain of those in the North. Critics believe these policies have been particulary negative for those living a subsistence lifestyle. Poverty in the developing world is currently at catasrophic levels with 34,000 children dying every " day from malnutrition and disease. Some charge the IMF, World Bank and GATT for increasing the vulnerability of the poor and ecological destruction. Fair trade is a system of trade which deliberately seeks to establish a more equal basis of exchange between the two geographical hemispheres. It helps to counter some of the imbalances of the current trading system. With the commitment of Alternative trading organisations (ATO's) thousands of men, women and children have secured a lifestyle which is both economically viable and ecologically sustainable. The challenge for fair trading is to apply alternative trade models more widely, and to promote fair trading as a part of mainstream commercial activity. One way the fair trading system is doing this is through labelling products sold in supermarkets with a fair trade label. Those products with a fair trade label have passed the fair trading criteria agreed to by the International Federation for Alternative Trading. Social Work is one of many professions that could help support fair trading. By organising fair trade networks as part of social development practice, social work could be active in supporting an economic system which empowers those who are most disadvantaged, and thereby reduces the inequality perpetuated by the current trading system. There are a number of other key roles for social workers. They could educate the public about global economic issues through conferences, workshops and writing educational material. Another role for social workers is that of negotiation. Social workers in the international development field would be in a good position to link Southern producer groups to Northern fair trading businesses. They could also link socially responsible business in the North to marginalised groups in their own countries. A third role for social workers committed to fair trading, is research. Topics could include ongoing analysis of the social and environmental effects of the current trading system, exploring the effectiveness of various alternative trading models and research on factors that could help facilitate the growth of socially responsible business. There are three international bodies which help social workers maintain a global perspective. They are the IFSW (International Federation of Social Work), the LASSW (International Association of Schools of Social Work) and the ICSW (International Council on Social Welfare).

Since mercantilism, which began in the mid 1600s, there have been numerous systemic changes in the global trading system. The most significant changes have been colonialism, the slave trade, peasant enclosures, industrialization and the formation of global economic institutions. Each one of these has had a marked effect on the distribution of resources and the wealth generated from their manufacture. Mercantilism, a theory related to trade and commerce, brought about intense competition amongst Northern countries in order to secure markets and resources. Colonialism was a way of assuring traders access to both primary resources and overseas markets in Southern countries. This pattern of trading whereby Southern countries provide the raw resources for the benefit of those in the North is still relevant, and has contributed significantly to divisions in wealth between the hemispheres. By the early 1800's mercantilists posed a threat to the aristocratic classes, which found themselves land rich but money poor. This, along with the growing movement towards industrialization, led to the eviction of peasants from land they had lived on for centuries. Two sources of cheap labour became available. Peasants who were desperate to find work in order to survive, and those deemed to be slaves from the developing world. Their labour was used to clear land for cultivation and for factory work. This combination of cheap labour and access to primary resources from the South enabled Northern countries to forge ahead with the industrialization of their economies. The year 1944 was an important year for global trading. Three institutions, namely the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the General Agreement on Tarriffs and Trade (GATT) were formed shortly thereafter. These international organisations would help solidify globally the ideology of laissez -faire economics. They would also play a direct role in influencing Southern governments to reduce trade barriers. It is claimed by critics that the IMF, the World Bank and GATT have used their power to uphold policies which have pried open Southern economies for the gain of those in the North. Critics believe these policies have been particulary negative for those living a subsistence lifestyle. Poverty in the developing world is currently at catasrophic levels with 34,000 children dying every " day from malnutrition and disease. Some charge the IMF, World Bank and GATT for increasing the vulnerability of the poor and ecological destruction. Fair trade is a system of trade which deliberately seeks to establish a more equal basis of exchange between the two geographical hemispheres. It helps to counter some of the imbalances of the current trading system. With the commitment of Alternative trading organisations (ATO's) thousands of men, women and children have secured a lifestyle which is both economically viable and ecologically sustainable. The challenge for fair trading is to apply alternative trade models more widely, and to promote fair trading as a part of mainstream commercial activity. One way the fair trading system is doing this is through labelling products sold in supermarkets with a fair trade label. Those products with a fair trade label have passed the fair trading criteria agreed to by the International Federation for Alternative Trading. Social Work is one of many professions that could help support fair trading. By organising fair trade networks as part of social development practice, social work could be active in supporting an economic system which empowers those who are most disadvantaged, and thereby reduces the inequality perpetuated by the current trading system. There are a number of other key roles for social workers. They could educate the public about global economic issues through conferences, workshops and writing educational material. Another role for social workers is that of negotiation. Social workers in the international development field would be in a good position to link Southern producer groups to Northern fair trading businesses. They could also link socially responsible business in the North to marginalised groups in their own countries. A third role for social workers committed to fair trading, is research. Topics could include ongoing analysis of the social and environmental effects of the current trading system, exploring the effectiveness of various alternative trading models and research on factors that could help facilitate the growth of socially responsible business. There are three international bodies which help social workers maintain a global perspective. They are the IFSW (International Federation of Social Work), the LASSW (International Association of Schools of Social Work) and the ICSW (International Council on Social Welfare). / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

Many analyses from the New Political Economy (NPE) perceive the Free Trade Agreement (FTA), either from the narrow angle of Canada-United States relationship, or as the result of pressures from dominant monolithic social forces. The present thesis offers a different angle of analysis by demonstrating the importance of the international context in shaping changes in domestic politics such as those relating to the FTA. The thesis also puts emphasis on the complexity of social support and political bargaining that resulted in the adoption of the FTA. / Building of Peter Gourevitch's framework, which evaluates the impact of international crises on domestic politics, the thesis focuses on five possible factors that could explain the free trade outcome. Firstly, constraints and opportunities arising from the international system are assessed to evaluate if the government might have adopted the FTA to protect the "raison d'Etat": it rather appears that it is through the mediation of social actors that the post 1970 international crisis was felt. Secondly, a sectorial analysis finds that two coalitions, each one with two sets of preferences, were opposed on the FTA issue. Thirdly, the role of intermediate associations (business groups, unions and farmers associations) is assessed to see if their impact went beyond the sectorial interest they defended. Fourthly, the influence of economic ideologies is analyzed. Fifthly, the state structure is taken into account to show essentially that the Mulroney government had a double and complementary agenda with the FTA and the Meech Lake negotiations, both of which had a degree of independence from domestic economic and social pressures. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

No description available.

M.A. (Sociology) / This study investigated the effects of female cross border traders’ work on family well-being in the context of economic hardships in Zimbabwe. The research focused on ten Zimbabwean married women, who work as cross border traders between Harare and Johannesburg and it aimed to understand how their work as cross border traders impacted on the economic and emotional well-being of their families as well as on family resilience. Literature on cross border trading shows that the trade is a key livelihood strategy for families and households but the impacts of the traders’ increased mobility and prolonged absence from home on the emotional well-being of family members have rarely been explored. Using detailed data drawn from in depth interviews with the participants, this study sought to address this gap. The findings of the study reveal that cross border trading is no longer merely a survival strategy that meets the basic needs of families but instead, it has elevated the standards of living of the families, enabling traders to acquire highly valued property. Beyond such economic benefits, the women’s work is having significant effects on the emotional well-being of the family members. The women’s relationships with their spouses were found to be generally stable but in some cases were fraught with tensions and disagreements emanating from the trading work. In most instances, cross border trading work compromised the emotional care and the resilience of the children. The regular absence of the women from their homes presented additional responsibilities and burdens on their children. Older children, for instance, have to take care of their siblings in a context were the fathers do not play an active role in child care. The consequences of the women’s trading activities are evident but often overlooked by the families as they focus on increased material provision. The study sheds light on some of the effects of increased migration of Zimbabwean women on the family and calls for more extensive research on the family in Zimbabwe with the continued economic challenges in the country.

A Critical Theoretical perspective is used to analyse the underlying logic of globalization (flexible capital accumulation) as problematic for social policy and programs. Conflicts between economic accumulation and political legitimation emerged as contradictory stagflation leading to delinking the gold standard and abandonment of the Keynesian consensus and Bretton Woods system. The Macdonald Royal Commission on Economic Union and Development Prospects for Canada abandoned its claim to public enlightenment and social consensus in validating free trade. The economic constitution of free trade limits social rights and future political intervention into the economic sphere. The social orientation to emancipation and well-being are restrained to utilitarian discourse. Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School is compared with positivism and interpretivism within an analytic frame of ontology, epistemology and methodology. The historical background of the Frankfurt School is discussed with contributions by Adorno, Foucault, Freud, Habermas, Honneth, Horkheimer, and Marcuse. A meta-theoretical framework is developed for use in social work theory and practice. Jiirgen Habermas' Theory of Social Action is analysed within the frame as arguing the good life in the public sphere. Habermas' interpretation of the crisis of the welfare state as the colonization of the lifeworld by strategic communication is applied to the recent free trade and social policy debate. Universal pragmatics and the criteria of universal validity claims is developed. A communication assessment method is developed from Habermas' universal validity claims criteria and theory of communicative action. The typological criteria is used to measure public consensus on The Globe and Mail Newspaper coverage of Canadian public sphere discourse on free trade and social policy from 1980 to 1995. A multi-stage sample of textual arguments is deconstructed and analysed within an "ideal speech situation" of the hermeneutic-dialectical computer program ATLAS/ti. Qualitative analysis and statistical measures of Chi-Square Analysis and Dendrograms are adapted to the validity claim criteria to describe the results. Methodological results are tentative, and presented as an exploration of theory applied to method which is useful for social work theory and practice. The importance of the Habermasian revision of Critical Theory to social work theory and practice is discussed.

A Critical Theoretical perspective is used to analyse the underlying logic of globalization (flexible capital accumulation) as problematic for social policy and programs. Conflicts between economic accumulation and political legitimation emerged as contradictory stagflation leading to delinking the gold standard and abandonment of the Keynesian consensus and Bretton Woods system. The Macdonald Royal Commission on Economic Union and Development Prospects for Canada abandoned its claim to public enlightenment and social consensus in validating free trade. The economic constitution of free trade limits social rights and future political intervention into the economic sphere. The social orientation to emancipation and well-being are restrained to utilitarian discourse. Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School is compared with positivism and interpretivism within an analytic frame of ontology, epistemology and methodology. The historical background of the Frankfurt School is discussed with contributions by Adorno, Foucault, Freud, Habermas, Honneth, Horkheimer, and Marcuse. A meta-theoretical framework is developed for use in social work theory and practice. Jiirgen Habermas' Theory of Social Action is analysed within the frame as arguing the good life in the public sphere. Habermas' interpretation of the crisis of the welfare state as the colonization of the lifeworld by strategic communication is applied to the recent free trade and social policy debate. Universal pragmatics and the criteria of universal validity claims is developed. A communication assessment method is developed from Habermas' universal validity claims criteria and theory of communicative action. The typological criteria is used to measure public consensus on The Globe and Mail Newspaper coverage of Canadian public sphere discourse on free trade and social policy from 1980 to 1995. A multi-stage sample of textual arguments is deconstructed and analysed within an "ideal speech situation" of the hermeneutic-dialectical computer program ATLAS/ti. Qualitative analysis and statistical measures of Chi-Square Analysis and Dendrograms are adapted to the validity claim criteria to describe the results. Methodological results are tentative, and presented as an exploration of theory applied to method which is useful for social work theory and practice. The importance of the Habermasian revision of Critical Theory to social work theory and practice is discussed. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate