Capitalism is also farm subsidies, tax breaks and other corporate handouts given by rich nations that destroy the farming industries in poor countries. Capitalism (as currently practised, or in its purest, unregulated form) is not an untarnished 'good' by itself.
This is without considering how capital is leveraged to the detriment of anything protecting poor people in order to extract more profits (by lobbying, quid-pro-quo deals, or threats to stop investments). See the recent insane row over breastfeeding vs. formula at the UN, and what force was brought to bear on Nicaragua.
It's probably the biggest, most important claim of the millennium. And it is really, really good for hundreds of millions (maybe billions).
These two are pretty good start points. [1] [2]
In short, globalization converted hundreds of millions of would-be Chinese farmers into middle class urbanites in about one generation.
It is the most massive improvement of quality of life in world history. It is staggering to consider how much life has improved for so many people in such a short amount of time.
This is basically step one of "how do we save the world". First get everyone to a baseline standard of living, then instill ideas of sustainability and environmentalism, then try to boost everyone to a more than bearable standard of living sustainably.
Children as young as 4 years old are mining cobalt (used in lithium batteries) by hand in the DRC.[1][2]
"More than half the world’s supply of cobalt comes from the DRC, with 20% of cobalt exported coming from artisanal mines in the southern part of the country. In 2012, Unicef estimated that there were 40,000 children working in all the mines across the south, many involved in mining cobalt."
"Adult miners dig up to 600ft below the surface using basic tools, without protective clothing or modern machinery. Sometimes the children are sent down into the narrow makeshift chambers where there is constant danger of collapse.
"Cobalt is such a health hazard that it has a respiratory disease named after it – cobalt lung, a form of pneumonia which causes coughing and leads to permanent incapacity and even death.
"Even simply eating vegetables grown in local soil can cause vomiting and diarrhoea, thyroid damage and fatal lung diseases, while birds and fish cannot survive in the area.
"No one knows quite how many children have died mining cobalt in the Katanga region in the south-east of the country. The UN estimates 80 a year, but many more deaths go unregistered, with the bodies buried in the rubble of collapsed tunnels. Others survive but with chronic diseases which destroy their young lives. Girls as young as ten in the mines are subjected to sexual attacks and many become pregnant.
The cobalt "ends up in smartphones, cars and computers sold to millions across the world, by household brands including Apple, Microsoft and Vodafone"
"Car maker Tesla – the market leader in electric vehicles – plans to produce 500,000 cars per year starting in 2018, and will need 7,800 tons of cobalt to achieve this. Sales are expected to hit 4.4 million by 2021. It means the price of cobalt will soar as the world gears itself up for the electric car revolution, and there is evidence some corporations are cancelling their contracts with regulated mines using industrial technology, and turning increasingly to the cheaper mines using human labour."
No one is celebrating child labor. But the question is how that compares to what these kids would be doing otherwise (ie, starving, dying of preventable disease, etc).
If the overall trend is to bring prosperity and increased standards of living to an area (which it generally appears to be), then globalization is a net win.
That doesn't mean it's a win for everyone all the time.
But over time, these sorts of humanitarian concerns melt away as countries grow richer and start behaving more humanely because they can afford to.
Rich nations tend not to have child labor. It's not because they're more moral, per se. It's just that they can afford a reasonable standard of living without child labor.
GDP per capita in DRC is $500 per year, so, yeah, parents are going to do what they have to to survive.
Africa also has lots of special problems like corruption that don't result from globalization and capitalism.
