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.