Thursday, February 23, 2012

Foxconn Outrage Is Misdirected

The glimpses we've seen and the stories we've heard about the deplorable conditions of Foxconn workers are shocking and upsetting. But what people don't seem to get is that life in the Third World is, to our eyes, shocking and upsetting and deplorable in general. Much more so than anything seen in these factories.

The problem's poverty, not Foxconn. And the solution to poverty is jobs - jobs like these which are more dependable and lucrative than what rural folks there are otherwise able to find. So Foxcon's the solution, not the problem. This is amply demonstrated by the great many who choose to work there, and the many more who clamor for job openings. This sort of work, appalling though it may seem from a Western perspective, represents the best hope for rural Chinese, who've suffered starvation and deprivation for centuries immemorial.

That said, it's good that pressure is being put on Foxcon to be a tad more first-worldish in their worker management. Very large aggregations of human beings toiling under an uber-powerful single point of authority creates the potential for worse atrocities than long hours and crowded housing.

But our outrage is misdirected. Poverty is awful; life in the Third World can be awful. That's the problem we're seeing, and that's where our attention ought to be directed. The glimpses of comparatively mild awfulness at Foxconn actually represent the very best edge of poverty in the Third World. It's a ludicrously misplaced battleground.

Pressuing Foxconn to offer wages and conditions even further above the prevailing norm would bring only cosmetic improvement. In the end, it would be economically distortive, inviting more Third-Worldish inefficiency and intrigue as management plays to American TV cameras, rather than contributing to building a robust and sustainable economy capable of raising a billion souls up to something resembling a middle class. As-is, these workers are toiling to make a better life for their kids. Isn't that what our grandparents did?

In a sense the Foxconn workers are like baby seals - conveniently photogenic victims spotlit to elicit outrage, distracting attention from far greater perils.

I own an iPhone, an iPad, and a Mac laptop, and I'm delighted that my purchases have helped create jobs for people whose ancestors were subjected to endless waves of famine and pestilence. I can't imagine feeling the slightest guilt over my role in this life-saving economic chain, and it absolutely astounds me that some strident parties find themselves moved to buy fewer Chinese-made gadgets, as if this shows staunch support for exploited workers. Sheer lunacy.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

are you the guy that wanted to hook some peasants up to import their agave (or tequila or whatever that was) into the US, but only on the condition that they get paid over and above the market rate?

it's because they are artful that you accord them your support, but the unskilled peasant can fend for himself?

but what if they would have been happy to receive the market export rate for their product, and hopefully move up the ladder based on their quality?

Jim Leff said...

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are you the guy that wanted to hook some peasants up to import their agave (or tequila or whatever that was) into the US, but only on the condition that they get paid over and above the market rate?
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Yes. If I have control over a situation, conditions will be subject to my particular ethics and values. But what the heck does that have to do with the price of cellphones in China?


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the unskilled peasant can fend for himself?
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.....as opposed to what?

Through all eternity, a certain portion of society has had it hard, and has fended for themselves. If you have a better route, don't waste time commenting on my Slog, and go out and announce it to the world. We've been waiting centuries for a viable scheme to ensure equity.

The way out of that situation - the ONLY way out - is hard work and hard living under non-optimal conditions. When, that is, such work is available (which, in rural China, has generally not been the case). That's how my grandparents escaped poverty, and they did so without anyone fretting impotently about their sacrifices and deprivations. And they wouldn't have at all appreciated the condescending notion that they needed to be fended for.

Thank God (as they often did) they even had the opportunity. Back in their eastern european ghettos/villages, there was little to do but watch out for Cossacks. I'm writing on a MacBook Pro because they worked under deplorable conditions.


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but what if they would have been happy to receive the market export rate for their product, and hopefully move up the ladder based on their quality?
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Foxcon is paying well above market rate to their workers. For the first time in millennia, the rural peasants of China will not face starvation from the next famine. The money, the conditions, everything at Foxcon is worlds better than subsistence farming. Again: the Foxcons are the SOLUTION.

We can force this one company to pay an even more out-of-step wage, and to offer first world working conditions in a third world society. It would not fix the problem, and the unintended economic consequences would be staggering. And it would amount to a cosmetic bandaid. You can't fix poverty via liberal guilt and furor half a world away. If you really want to, go to China and work one-on-one with the poor. Kvetching about Foxcon isn't the answer.

Do I feel badly, personally, for their lot? Of course. Am I going to stop buying Apple products to help free these pathetic souls from the tyranny of their wretched jobs, or feel guilt for being part of the demand for these products? That's nuts!

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