How Much Will We Pay for Our Electronic Toys?
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But
when we demand lower and lower prices for our toys, that price is paid by
someone. If we won't pay it because we can't bring ourselves to spend more than
$200 for a shiny new iPhone, then that Chinese child pays it. If we were
willing to spend more, then perhaps that job would go to an adult so that the
child could live more as child. Or perhaps that work would go to a former
textile worker in the U.S. Appalachia region, whose labor might cost a
little more.
But
the needs of the developed world are such that they must be filled by a massive
labor force, and China is one of the few places that has huge numbers people
willing to work for low wages with the skills to precisely manufacture
electronic devices. Should we pay more for our toys so that these people can
live and work in conditions that don't make them wish they could end their own
lives? Yes, we should.
But
blaming Apple isn't the answer. The problem isn't just Apple or any other U.S.
company that has to resort to low-wage manufacturers overseas to squeeze every
penny out of the manufacturing cycle so it can make big profits in an industry
with cutthroat competition.
The
problem is you. The problem is everyone with an iPhone or nearly any other kind
of cell phone or tablet computer or laptop or other consumer electronics
device. You, by insisting on ever lower prices and ever newer stuff with ever
faster delivery times, are responsible for the conditions in that Shenzhen
factory.
If
it were possible to buy these electronics from companies that provide more
humane working conditions, then I'd suggest that you should do that. Sadly, I
don't know that it's possible. I will tell you that if I could know for certain
that my devices were built in a factory that treated workers with respect and
gave them reasonable working conditions, I would, even if it cost more. But the
fact of today's globalization is such that you simply can't find out. If you
want an iPhone or something like it, then you have no choice but to buy that
device the way comes, with all the dirty secrets about low wages, exhausting
work shifts and rotten working conditions built in.
In
a way, when you buy that hamburger you do have a choice-you can choose meat
from an animal that was raised humanely, treated with respect and allowed to
live a pleasant life. When I buy meat like that, it costs a lot more, and I pay
it. But I can't buy a phone that way. They don't exist. But if they did, I'd
pay a lot more to get one.
To follow Wayne Rash on Twitter, click here.
Wayne Rash is a Senior Analyst for eWEEK Labs and runs the magazineÃÃÃs Washington Bureau. Prior to joining eWEEK as a Senior Writer on wireless technology, he was a Senior Contributing Editor and previously a Senior Analyst in the InfoWorld Test Center. He was also a reviewer for Federal Computer Week and Information Security Magazine. Previously, he ran the reviews and events departments at CMP's InternetWeek.He is a retired naval officer, a former principal at American Management Systems and a long-time columnist for Byte Magazine. He is a regular contributor to Plane & Pilot Magazine and The Washington Post.
