4 ms·
That line of thinking is why phrases such as "penny wise, pound foolish" exist. Setting your house on fire is also an "efficient" way to generate heat, unless
by NotAnEconomist 8y ago
That line of thinking is why phrases such as "penny wise, pound foolish" exist.
Setting your house on fire is also an "efficient" way to generate heat, unless you account for the full future reckoning, which was similarly ignored in the move of manufacturing to China.
- adrianN 8y agoIt's pretty hard to know what the "future reckoning" will be with the move of manufacturing to China. The situation is different from setting your house on fire to keep warm. I don't think a war between the China and the rest of the world is terribly likely and I believe globalization is overall more good than bad for humanity. Other people may of course disagree, but the issue is definitely not as clear cut as you claim.
- tivert 8y ago> I don't think a war between the China and the rest of the world is terribly likely and I believe globalization is overall more good than bad for humanity. A war doesn't have to be likely for the location of supply chains to have a negative geopolitical effect. For instance: China could use the knowledge that globalization has become the US military's achilles heel to confidently take aggressive action elsewhere, knowing the US can't respond because it can't sustain a response without Chinese cooperation. In a similar vein, economic dependence limits the pressure the US and other western countries can put on China in the name of Chinese human rights.
- brokenmachine 8y ago> In a similar vein, economic dependence limits the pressure the US and other western countries can put on China in the name of Chinese human rights. Serious question, what pressure does the US currently put on China in the name of Chinese human rights?