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This sounds like the old "walking uphill bothways" tripe to me: My father/mother/uncle lost a limb/eyeball/lung and were happy about it too, so they shouldn't

• potatolicious 17y ago
  "My father/mother/uncle lost a limb/eyeball/lung and were happy about it too, so they shouldn't even complain." That's not what I said, please to be not putting words in my mouth? kthx. "Sweatshop trinkets are not a requirement for industrialization or lucrative economies." Straw man - "sweatshop" labor produces a whole lot more than mere trinkets and souvenirs - they are, in this case, producing valuable electronics in great demand elsewhere. Like I said in my previous post - safety should be utmost, even in developing countries, but what this article brought up is not safety, it's quality of life standards. You can work people like dogs, make them hot-bunk, and serve them watery gruel, and maintain effective safety measures at the same time. This isn't to say that you should, but rather that we are talking about two distinct and separate issues. This article pecks halfheartedly at one, but fails to address the other (IMHO more important) one.
  • codexon 17y ago
    That's not what I said, please to be not putting words in my mouth? kthx. You are trying to one-up illumin8 to support your argument that sweatshop labor was good. This is the gist of your argument: Your parents suffered even more and said it was great, so illumin8's argument is invalid. Straw man - "sweatshop" labor produces a whole lot more than mere trinkets and souvenirs - they are, in this case, producing valuable electronics in great demand elsewhere. I think we can live without the 4th or 5th shoddily crafted electronic mouse or hand-held gaming device so someone can profit by a couple of cents.
    • seabee 17y ago
      We can live without many things, but that's irrelevant if we still choose to consume them. Perhaps ethically they have no value but they sure have financial value, that's why they're being produced and sold, then bought by us. We give them their income.
      • codexon 17y ago
        I don't choose to consume them. Many people choose to consume them because they are manipulated by advertisement and unreasonable societal norms. If the wage of these workers were doubled, no one in the US would notice. Do you really scrutinize $0.20 on a $30.00 mouse?
        • petercooper 17y ago
          And if you double everyone's wages, that will result in inflation which isn't going to seriously help their purchasing power.