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If the prices are low because the quality of products is low, the treatment of workers is shit and any other negative environmental externalities are ignored, t

If the prices are low because the quality of products is low, the treatment of workers is shit and any other negative environmental externalities are ignored, then low prices are actually a bad thing leading to artificially inflated demand. I’m not saying any or all of this applies to Walmart or Amazon necessarily, but it’s not an unambiguous good to lower prices when it is not supported by all the reality around it.

HDThoreaun 3y ago
> prices are low because the quality of products is low I don't see how this is a bad thing. If people want to buy cheap low quality products they should be able to.
- Swenrekcah 3y ago
  I’ve had this discussion before but essentially it’s that nobody (very few) really want to buy low quality products. They do if that is the only thing they can afford because of other shortcomings of society. Edit: Found the previous discussion https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36630612 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36630612
  - HDThoreaun 3y ago
    I'm not sure I understand. Resources are inherently limited. It would be nice if everyone could have whatever they want, but that's not reality. Until then people should be allowed to sacrifice quality in some of the things they consume to raise the quality of others.
    - Swenrekcah 3y ago
      Yes of course. I was probably not very clear about it but I’m more talking about very low quality, almost single use items.
- salawat 3y ago
  Define quality more accurately than the poster you're replying to. Their definition of quality included goods produced while accounting for externalities, and non-abusive/exploitative workforce treatment. It is not okay for a manufactured product built on the backs of slave/child labor/conflict to be sold in a market. There's a reason Conflict diamonds are verboten. There's a reason why it should be a big deal when a large industrial actor is found to be using these things as part of their production chain. We cannot allow those that would sacrifice other's humanity to participate in our economy. Once you accept them, you've set the bar everyone else will quickly clamber to meet.

HDThoreaun 3y ago

> prices are low because the quality of products is low I don't see how this is a bad thing. If people want to buy cheap low quality products they should be able to.

Swenrekcah 3y ago
I’ve had this discussion before but essentially it’s that nobody (very few) really want to buy low quality products. They do if that is the only thing they can afford because of other shortcomings of society. Edit: Found the previous discussion https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36630612 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36630612
- HDThoreaun 3y ago
  I'm not sure I understand. Resources are inherently limited. It would be nice if everyone could have whatever they want, but that's not reality. Until then people should be allowed to sacrifice quality in some of the things they consume to raise the quality of others.
  - Swenrekcah 3y ago
    Yes of course. I was probably not very clear about it but I’m more talking about very low quality, almost single use items.
salawat 3y ago
Define quality more accurately than the poster you're replying to. Their definition of quality included goods produced while accounting for externalities, and non-abusive/exploitative workforce treatment. It is not okay for a manufactured product built on the backs of slave/child labor/conflict to be sold in a market. There's a reason Conflict diamonds are verboten. There's a reason why it should be a big deal when a large industrial actor is found to be using these things as part of their production chain. We cannot allow those that would sacrifice other's humanity to participate in our economy. Once you accept them, you've set the bar everyone else will quickly clamber to meet.