It would have been better 20+ years ago, before wholesale IP flow there and some other places. There was theft. There was also taking advantage of that theft

It would have been better 20+ years ago, before wholesale IP flow there and some other places. There was theft. There was also taking advantage of that theft by "Western", "IP friendly" businesses. Hardly the only, but one of the reasons that "outsourcing" had such "cost savings". Because the suppliers outsourced to weren't actually paying for the tools and technology they were using (versus e.g. a domestic U.S. producer). It would have been better 20+ years ago, before wholesale IP flow there and some other places. There was theft. There was also taking advantage of that theft by "Western", "IP friendly" businesses. Hardly the only, but one of the reasons that "outsourcing" had such "cost savings". Because the suppliers outsourced to weren't actually paying for the tools and technology they were using (versus e.g. a domestic U.S. producer). P.S. I'm all for the "third world" -- or "second", or whatever -- advancing. I don't think nor respect the idea that the "first world" had to hollow itself out to accomplish this. Nor so distort other societies and governments into such abusive forms, e.g. by using our technology to empower an abusive but cooperative faction over the others. But then I've been an optimist. The last some years of U.S. politics have really put that to the test for me, personally.