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Citizens of the Republic,
We have all experienced that moment when we rush into the store (or scroll down a webpage) to find that perfect product we need. We find it. We select it. We buy it!
We feel a temporary moment of relief, bordering on elation, as the task at hand has been accomplished.
Euphoria! We bought that shirt that mom insisted we needed to purchase in order to replace that tattered, beloved garment we have owned for years but which is no longer fit for respectable society.
Yet have we ever considered where our money is going? Where are the products we purchase made? Are they made ethically? Are they made sustainably?
Are they made by an authoritarian regime whose values are the complete antithesis of our democratic way of life?
Well, in this blog post – good citizens – I seek to address this issue:
As authoritarian regimes are clearly on the rise in the world, and the cause for global democracy is under threat, isn’t it about time we started to put our money where our mouth is? See, Melissa Morgan, Understanding the Global Rise of Authoritarianism, Stanford, Freeman Spogli Institute of International Studies, November 8, 2021.
After all, whilst cheap goods are useful in the short term – if our money only ends up feeding the beast, so to speak (see Germany and America’s reliance on Russian oil. Infra.) and leading us down a road where authoritarian regimes are enriched and therefor empowered to act against us – Isn’t it about time that we employ a new formula when we go to the store or shop online? See, Becky Sullivan, Jacky Northam, How Europe’s reliance on Russia’s gas plays into the war in Ukraine, NPR, February 24, 2022; see also, Sean Murphy, Cathy Bussewitz, GOP wants to end Russian oil imports to US, boost production, ABC News, March 2, 2022.
Towards that end, let me suggest the following set of guiding principles: A decision-making matrix, if you will, for when we look at that shirt label and see where our next prospective purchase is coming from – so that we can make an informed decision, to buy democratically, and support those countries who support us.
Listed in descending order of prioritization:
- Is the product made in America?
- Will the purchasing of said product support American industry, and small business?
- Will it provide our fellow Americans with jobs and a livelihood?
- If so, buy.
- If the product is not made in America, is it made by an ally of our country?
- Does our country through its history, customs, traditions, mores, and values, have a long-standing relationship of collaboration with this country (including, but not limited to economic, humanitarian and/or a military partnership) whereby it makes sense for the American consumer to support them?
- If so, buy.
- If the product is not made in America, is it made by a country that we wish to cultivate as an ally?
- Does our country with our attendant history, customs, traditions, mores, and values, believe that cultivating a relationship with this country is worthwhile?
- If so, buy.
- If the product is made in a country with an authoritarian regime who wishes us ill…
- Do not buy – if practicable. I firmly acknowledge that this is a caveated statement and considering the interconnectedness of the international economy sometimes one simply cannot purchase the item they are seeking from one of the above-mentioned categories (1-3).
- Nevertheless, still try to avoid buying it – if at all practicable – and canvass for the product to be made in America, or in a country that fits the description of categories (2-3)
In sum, whilst there is certainly an argument for “getting it cheap,” there is also an attendant argument for standing up for your values, supporting your countrymen, your friends, your allies, those whom you wish to be your friends, and selectively choosing who is granted your finite economic support, as a customer.
Buy into democracy. For where you spend your money on the global stage matters.
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© 2021 James Miller, President & Founder, Citizen of the Republic, LLC. All rights reserved.
