Not shutting down a sweatshop is definitely not something you would hear as an argument because it tends to sound like whoever argues this is in favor of poor working conditions for third world nations. The fact of the matter is that those who shut down sweatshops, although they have the best intentions, tend to ignore many of the other consequences of their actions. Shutting down a sweatshop only results in the workers simply being thrown onto the streets where they usually starve. In a third world nation there is no welfare or unemployment so when a worker loses their only source of income the results can be catastrophic for their lives. When looking back in the history of America, Europe, and most any other first world nation has gone through an industrial revolution in which the factories used sound a lot like the modern day sweatshops. When the issue is looked at like that it becomes even clearer that the sweatshops in third world nations are used as ways to reach a better economic future. With free trade among nations these sweatshops will begin to profit and with that profit it will be re invested into their nation. Economic improvement is seen in nations like china where the average pay for a factory worker has nearly doubled over the last decade. The growth is already being seen and like the history of Americas industrial revolution the factory conditions will improve and lead to even better jobs for the nations in the future. Now some may say that we need to require better treatment of these workers and better pay but that can be just as harmful as shutting down a sweatshop. The reason for this is that when a company is forced to spend more on their workers who in reality could be replaced by machines will be replaced by automation and therefore resulting in more workers on the streets. In a survey of sweatshop workers in Honduras 95% stated that they would rather not take a pay cut than have safer working conditions. The sad fact of all this is that these workers are dispensable and could easily be replaced so they are happy for what they get. Now over time it will get better with the use of free trade. If two factories work to produce goods and factory A pays its workers a little more than factory B they will have the ability to pick the more productive workers to work there since these workers will want the extra pay. Well now factory B will pay their workers a little more and then factory A will pay more and so on. Well as you can see over time the workers’ pay will increase and as more money flows into the country because of the goods they produce it will result in higher quality education and general economic improvement. It’s hard to see but we as a society have to accept these sweatshops and give them time and business so that the jobs and the lives of the workers will be able to improve.