Slashdot Mirror
Ask Slashdot: Is It Ethical To Purchase Electronics Products Made In China?
dryriver writes: A lot of people seem to think it's O.K. to buy electronics made in China. We get to buy products considerably cheaper than we otherwise would, and China by all accounts is growing, developing, and modernizing as a nation due to all the cool stuff they now make for the world. There is only one problem with that reasoning. 21st Century China has an atrocious human rights record, and almost all human rights watchdogs report that China is becoming more and more repressive each year. Freedom House put it this way in 2018: "It's worth noting that, in its attitude toward political dissent, the Chinese Communist Party has proven much harsher than the old Soviet regime of the Brezhnev era. Modern Chinese sentences are longer, the prospects for early release are far worse, and the Chinese authorities are generally unmoved by pleas for leniency from foreign diplomats." Basically, consumer dollars from around the world are not gradually creating a gentler, freer, more prosperous and more modern China at all. They are making the Chinese Communist Party richer, stronger, bolder and more aggressive and repressive in every respect. To the question: knowing what the human rights situation is in China, and that consumer dollars and euros flowing into the country from abroad is making things worse, not better, is it at all ethical to buy electronics or IT products manufactured in China?
gonna keep doing it though because my life is really just a huge list of accidents anyway
20 years late question.
>"Is It Ethical To Purchase Electronics Products Made In China?"
Here are some reply questions: Do we even have a choice? Exactly what can I buy that isn't made in China? What is the proposed solution? Ban imports from China? Is THAT "ethical"? Drive prices up so high on products that poorer people here can't afford to buy anything? Is THAT "ethical"? Is it "ethical" to try and interfere with another sovereign nation's political and operational process? Even if we restricted trade based on "ethicality", how effective would that be? (We are far from their only market) And how much influence would we THEN have? Is there some difference between electronics/IT and any other products we buy from China? (Other than perhaps spyware, which has nothing to do with human rights inside THEIR borders).
For huge numbers of end consumers, there's not much choice. With wage stagnation and general costs of living generally increasing, the cheap Chinese-made thing is all they can afford. If there even is an option made somewhere else. Assuming the other options aren't made by companies being just as exploitative.
The real question should be, "is it ethical for corporations to outsource all their manufacturing to China?"
isn't that part of the question, do you try to buy local/US made?
i do but its not always available even at a higher cost. and cost is part of the real equation. Not every one has the luxury to search for American made products, even the ones that are just packaged here.
can't talk about manufactured in China without talking about job loss or income inequality.
we must buy cheap because we can't afford anything more.
Saying "... that is an internal Chinese issue" is a key point of discussion. That number is about 1/5th of the entire world's population. To ignore 1/5th of humanity and how they're evolving is an enormous mistake.
The "eastern" point of view is becoming much like the "western" point of view, with onerous twists, like mass speech control, and enormous population shifts. Add to this, hundreds of thousands of encamped Western Chinese Muslims. Huge military growth. Ancient unsolved problems, like Taiwan and the madness of Tibetan sovereignty.
The value of life is much different than the "western" legacies. Those western cultures decimated Africa, held huge pogroms for the past millennia, and have polluted and fouled the planet. The Chinese are just catching up to western mistakes, and learning how to amplify control for party success.
There is no "we are at odds with". The planet is very small. You can fly anywhere in about a day. Radio, satellites, the Internet, all link us together. But there is also a common morality that should link us together, and we don't really think about that. Instead, it's the job of most politicians to factionalize us and make us feel our tribal urges, fattening military budgets, and scraping the cream for the kleptocrats. The Chinese face the same wealth disparities as westerners face. Their freedom is questionable and freedom/liberty are measured in ways that thinkers agree upon.
---- Teach Peace. It's Cheaper Than War.
While you state facts...
I believe you are getting "FUCK OFF" because, let's be honest, your comment has absolutely nothing to do with the topic and could really be considered troll-like behavior. In fact by you attempting to insert your agenda into this thread you really do more harm to the facts your speaking about because others will see this as a racially motivated comment.
Did you just compare the human rights/freedom situation in China to the free/democratic ISRAEL?? Seriously?
Where would you like to draw the 'moral line'? At what point does human suffering become acceptable when compared to another?
Up until fairly recently, the strategy worked. We allowed them into the world of modern trade and commerce and bought their stuff. Overall, the country became more open and more modern. The strategy helped to pull about half a billion people out of poverty. Yes, we had to tolerate a highly flawed Chinese government with a bad human rights record and a lot of dodgy Chinese business practices, but nothing worse than we've tolerated from a dozen other countries we regularly do business with. Overall, the benefits were enormous.
Then something changed. China started backsliding. The most obvious symptom of this is Xi Jingping, who has actively pulled the country back towards autocracy, but there's a long list of things that suggest our "do business with them and they'll improve" strategy isn't working any more. A lot of foreign policy types are concluding that a change is needed. I've read that even most pro-Chinese economists in the West have concluded that China is sliding backwards. The carrot isn't working any more, so governments are trying a bit of stick instead. They're not going to have much luck expanding their overseas businesses for the next decade or two.
It was a great commercial that essentially said "don't be a jerk". This greatly upset the jerks for some reason.
Bullshit. It implied that men are stupid and have to be reminded to not be jerks.. Here's a tip: The guys that are being jerks have been told "Don't be jerks" a million times.. But they're still jerks.. Virtue signaling isn't gonna do shit...
But hey, you pointed out that there are jerks and they get upset when it's pointed out.. You can go back to your SJW group and brag about how you set the story right... Your task is done..
I'm mortified to see the 50 Cent Gang has infiltrated Slashdot and is now directing conversations off topic with whataboutism. Go away, troll, you aren't welcome here.
Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!