Analysis Of Major Theme Of Eric Schlosser And Martha Nussbaum
Eric Schlosser and Martha Nussbaum are both philosophers concerned with the rights of individuals. Each writer approaches their subject differently but each regard respect for and preservation of human rights, a common thread uniting the two within the framework of a theme of oppression.
Eric Schlosser approaches his subject, Global Realization, with an underlying theme of preserving individual cultures. He sees the spread of globalization as detrimental to the world, society, cultures, and trickling on down to individuals. This is illustrated by the point he makes when he states that “eating a hamburger at a McDonald’s in Beijing seems to elevate a person’s social status” (Schlosser p. 499). In essence the individual is lost or succumbs to the pressures of the world. One might ask though…from where are these pressures derived?
Eric Schlosser writes in an almost subtle oppositional style. Telling a story of how a successful corporation has spread internationally. One could get lost in the success of the story of the business without realizing there are victims and enemies. The victims are you the reader and all those like you around the world, the enemies, just as those who stormed Plauen, these are imperialistic enemies rushing into the world wearing their golden arches instead of their SS symbols. There are more like them, but the victims are the same the world over…individuals. Individuals whose children are targeted…. “As in the United States, the fast food companies have targeted their foreign advertising and promotion at a group of consumers with the fewest attachments to tradition” (Schlosser, p. 499). This is not a surprising approach, as Martha Nussbaum would comment that tradition is a barrier. Nussbaum would argue that political arrangements and customs are causes of death and misery to women, which considering the “enemies” approach, customs and traditions could be death and misery to their mission.
Nussbaum identifies conservatism, traditionalism, and customs of cultures and the world as a whole as the oppressors, with traditionalism and customs being subcomponents of conservative ideals within cultures. They become oppressors as individuals within each culture or rather subculture of the world are denied the same rights and freedoms as others, rights and freedoms that are inherent in the basic tenets of what composes the quality of life. Nussbaum’s chief goal is to craft a list of basic constitutional principles that can be the source for an international human rights movement. She adamantly states that, “the situation of women in the contemporary world calls for moral stand staking” (Nussbaum, p. 360).
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