[Marxism] Thomas Friedman on Outsourcing

[Ren <modernity22@xxxxxxxxx>]

Here is a piece on the supposedly universal benefits
outsourced labor creates for us all. Of course we know
what values Tommy Friedman represents, but what's
interesting here is his contrast of Indians with
Arabs. Indians pick up the "Good Darkies" award by
virtue of availing their skills to the desire for
greater profit by big capital in the West.

---------------


30 Little Turtles

By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

BANGALORE, India

Indians are so hospitable. I got an ovation the other
day from a roomful of Indian 20-year-olds just for
reading perfectly the following paragraph: "A bottle
of bottled water held 30 little turtles. It didn't
matter that each turtle had to rattle a metal ladle in
order to get a little bit of noodles, a total turtle
delicacy. The problem was that there were many turtle
battles for less than oodles of noodles."

I was sitting in on an "accent neutralization" class
at the Indian call center 24/7 Customer. The
instructor was teaching the would-be Indian call
center operators to suppress their native Indian
accents and speak with a Canadian one ? she teaches
British and U.S. accents as well, but these youths
will be serving the Canadian market. Since I'm
originally from Minnesota, near Canada, and still
speak like someone out of the movie "Fargo," I gave
these young Indians an authentic rendition of "30
Little Turtles," which is designed to teach them the
proper Canadian pronunciations. Hence the rousing
applause.

Watching these incredibly enthusiastic young Indians
preparing for their call center jobs ? earnestly
trying to soften their t's and roll their r's ? is an
uplifting experience, especially when you hear from
their friends already working these jobs how they have
transformed their lives. Most of them still live at
home and turn over part of their salaries to their
parents, so the whole family benefits. Many have
credit cards and have become real consumers, including
of U.S. goods, for the first time. All of them seem to
have gained self-confidence and self-worth.

A lot of these Indian young men and women have college
degrees, but would never get a local job that starts
at $200 to $300 a month were it not for the call
centers. Some do "outbound" calls, selling things from
credit cards to phone services to Americans and
Europeans. Others deal with "inbound" calls ?
everything from tracing lost luggage for U.S. airline
passengers to solving computer problems for U.S.
customers. The calls are transferred here by satellite
or fiber optic cable.

(may need registration)

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/29/opinion/29FRIE.html?hp=&pagewanted=print&position=

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