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Originally Posted by Cd
Again, correct me if i am wrong ( i didn't research this stuff like you guys did ) but I'm sure you are familiar with the Wired article on Apple using slave labor to build its' products. Is it really a good thing to support that ?
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Chicken or egg. Did Monsato cause farmer suicides in India? Nope. Those farmers were already killing themselves before Monsato. Unfortunately, Monsato's involvement didn't really help any, so they're still killing themselves.
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Do those companies giving out low wages for long working hours cause their workers to be financially stressed and suicidal? No. Those workers were poor before getting a factory job. They're grossly underpaid by our standards, but they're richer than they were before.
"Slave labor" is unpaid labor, from which you cannot escape. Tens of thousands of workers voluntarily sign on to this "slave labor" because it pays better than their alternatives.
In Apple's case, at least they're honest enough to admit there was a problem that needs rectifying. Now think about the hundreds (thousands?) of other companies producing stuff in China who don't give a flying fig?
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In the end, it may not matter. You pump so much money into the local economy, and you raise the standards and cost of living... which means either you pay the workers more or they go to someone who does... otherwise they can't survive.
These sweatshops may look dire to western eyes, but they're funding an economic revolution that is uplifting the entire population.
And once they're comfortably middle class... the jobs will go elsewhere.
