Cambodia

15-year-old girl killed in a Cambodian factory collapse in May 2013

One of the most afflicted parts of the planet due to capitalist exploitation and bad politics has been Cambodia. The textile workers in Cambodia have been striking under the banner of an opposition political party, who have organized the workers with a promise to push for a doubling of the minimum wage in factories. Currently the workers make $80 per month to make clothes for people in wealthier societies. 

The Cambodian government, supported by corporate capitalists, have called a monthly wage of $160 a month "unsustainable". Really? I am quite certain the government officials and corporate  buyers of the textiles produced in Cambodia are making far more than $160 a month. The government has been violently attacking the strikers. Today three deaths were reported from government troops firing on protesters, which include Buddhist monks. 

This is corporate capitalism in league with government against the interests of the common man. Those who equate Humanism with "free market capitalism" need to think carefully about what they mean by assuming the identity of Humanist.