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So its OK if Chinese workers are cheated, as long as you get a bargain? The ultimate impact of foreign slave labor on US free labor boils down to this: Is free

So its OK if Chinese workers are cheated, as long as you get a bargain? The ultimate impact of foreign slave labor on US free labor boils down to this: Is free labor superiority per hour more than counterbalanced by labor that can be flogged, worked to death, and quickly replaced? Is there slave labor with which no free labor can compete? If your answer is no, then go on buying cheap goods produced by slave labor, because it will have no consequences for the US standard of living. But if the real answer is yes, then buying slave-made goods paves the road to slavery for America.

eru 13y ago
Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn about the US standard of living. If anything, the more numerous Chinese deserve around 5 times more caring. (And for the record, the Chinese are not making inroads because of slave labour. They make inroads in spite of some slave labour.)
- ergoproxy 13y ago
  "deserve": Are you arguing economics or social justice? I'd like to see everyone's standard of living go up. But when equilibrium doesn't exist because of cheating, Pareto optimality no longer obtains, and some people profit at the direct expense of others. Slavery is a prime example. It shouldn't exist at all. I'd recommend anyone reading this thread take a look at "Apple (and America’s) Chinese Slave Labor Problem" by Karl Denninger at http://www.financialsense.com/contributors/karl-denninger/2012/01/23/apple-and-america-chinese-slave-labor-problem http://www.financialsense.com/contributors/karl-denninger/20...
  - eru 13y ago
    > "deserve": Are you arguing economics or social justice? Social justice. I am not from the US of A after all (and even if I was, I don't see the point about worrying about some accident of geography / history).