In a Gallatin class I am currently taking that centers around the legacies of colonialism, my professor brought up the contradiction of neoliberal economic policies alongside the concept of national borders. The topic confounded me and I stayed quiet for the initial discussion, but the idea soon opened as one specific example targeted an interesting point in my mind.
She proposed that the fair-trade policies of coffee companies, whether from the national megachain Starbucks or the smaller, more independent shops, actually oppose the projected aim of their cause. For as much as it might be of some benefit to the communities where the coffee is grown, our coffee's price would be much higher if the overseas workers were being paid a decent amount. We all want our fair-trade, save-the-world, grown-by-Ethiopian-farmer caffeine fix, yet still need the cocoa bean pickers to make nearly pennies a day so that we can afford our coffee jolt.
Many mornings, on my walk to the nonprofit where I intern, I swing in the local Starbucks on 3rd Ave to grab a tall Americano before I begin my day. Lunchtime also sees my lurching into the line and evenings spent at the Washington Square coffee shop couple (Think or Starbucks). But after last night's class, as I strolled to the office, I forwent my usual coffee slurp and grabbed a water bottle at a deli (although I am uncertain if that is any more ethical).
It is not that I will forever ban my coffee drinking (I would suffer severe withdrawals), but thanks to a professor who was probably just making an economic point, my usual morning drink transformed into some serious food for thought.