That depends on your perspective. From a job creations perspective it's wonderful, people are willing to open their wallets for labor-intensive products and ser

That depends on your perspective. From a job creations perspective it's wonderful, people are willing to open their wallets for labor-intensive products and services. While labor automation can be a boon for some and indirectly increase efficiencies, encouraging consumption of labor-intensive products and services directly incentivizes jobs creation. If this can be done in a safe manner (ie: appropriate workplace health codes and adequate protection against dangerous environmental externalities like pollution) then by all means it can be a good thing. Regardless of your opinions on shifting manufacturing to China, it has lifted tens/hundreds of millions of people out of poverty and transformed the country into a consumer-based economy (from a largely agrarian society). While it has devastated/destroyed local habitats and caused other ugliness, it cannot be disputed that encouraging usage of labor on a massive scale has done a lot of good for the people of China.