Article Analysis Essay on "Global Capital, the State, and Chinese Workers: The Foxconn Experience."

Introduction

The article, "Global Capital, the State and Chinese Workers: The Foxconn Experience" by Pun Ngai and Jenny Chan examines the advancement of the Foxconn Corporation to comprehend the beginning of the capital expansion and its effect on frontline employee's lives in China. Ngai and Chan also offer a chronological perspective of how the state enables Foxconn's production advancement as a strategy for monopoly capital. A case is also provided by 18 young migrant employees who wanted to commit suicide at Foxconn Corporation. The authors inform that Foxconn Corporation is the world's biggest electronics producer and has been experiencing workers pressure and nervousness. The paper reviews the concepts discussed by the authors in their effort to explain the Foxconn experience.

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In the article, Ngai and Chan present the state of Chinese workers in the country. Workers were seen as the new dawn to humanity. However, after 1978, migrant workers saw themselves with no future. The article notes that in the incidence of the attempted suicide, 14 workers died while four survived with injuries. The authors opine that it must be the changing trend of global capital accretion which is being experienced in China (Ngai and Chan 383). This has made the workers to change their character towards corporate dominance due to the state support. Migrant workers and student interns live a difficult life because their rights have been neglected. Ngai and Chan note that the differences between capital and labor have increased in the production point thereby increasing labor struggles and grievances.

In the article, the authors agree that Foxconn represents the advancement of monopoly capital which currently generates a large global facility administration that influences the lives of the Chinese migrant employees thus creating a lot of hardship and suffering. Foxconn Corporation has been able to dominate the worker employment due to the entrenched process of China's economic change and the close relationship between business and local regimes. There have been calls by the central government to restructure the industry but change has not been realized yet. It is clear that Foxconn disregards the welfare of migrant workers to maintain its status as a monopoly capital.

Generally, the authors are credible and reliable in this research. The literature review is comprehensive and covers areas that were not initially covered by authors on this particular topic. For instance, to ensure that the research was thorough, Ngai undertook four field trips to cities of Kunshan, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Chongqing, and Taiyuan to acquire first-hand information. In addition, Chan carried out a one-month exploration in Chengdu and Chongqing to ensure that the information gathered for the research was not skewed and reflected the intended outcome. The authors also possess a wide range of experience from their respective fields making them reliable in this form of research.

Conclusion

Conclusively, Ngai and Chan have conducted extensive research which makes it credible and reliable. The authors sought to explore the status of migrant workers in the Foxconn Corporation. The migrant works are deprived of their dreams, expectations and the future. Most of the employees who work at Foxconn struggle to meet their daily demands while the corporation expects too much from them. It is therefore crucial for the Chinese government to impose labor law for companies like Foxconn to respect the rights of workers. The suicide incidence reflects the deeply entrenched problems of migrant workers.

Works Cited

Ngai, Pun, and Jenny Chan. "Global capital, the state, and Chinese workers: the Foxconn experience." Modern China38.4 (2012): 383-410. DOI: 10.1177/0097700412447164