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45 sats \ 3 replies \ @optimism 21 May \ parent \ on: The Strange Moral Relativism of "Free Trade" econ
I've seen some pretty disturbing videos about exploitation of labor in primary resource extraction in Asia and Africa. IMHO this is the far bigger problem from a humanitarian perspective.
I agree with you that it is, but there's another system that goes hand in hand with free trade, and that is free will. And I think the latter is a prerequisite for the former. However it means that I can choose to not buy CCP subsidized products (even for the ones I listed initially - I'd just have to figure out another way to go about my security.) I know many people that principally "buy fair trade", "buy American" and nowadays even "buy European" (thanks to Mr. Vance's verbal abuse - the fallout may be tough long term.)
Bottom line: it is still rational for me to not buy the cheapest product because there are more dimensions than just price. CCP subsidies ultimately effect just that: you can compete, just not on price.
I can choose to not buy CCP subsidized products
The interesting question is whether that is even helping the person you're concerned about. When we defend "sweat shops", the argument is generally that the workers in those facilities chose to work there because it was their best option.
I think it's Sowell who had the great line about how you don't help the poor by taking away their options.
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Yes, sometimes the only way they can avoid starvation is by working in a sweatshop. I think Sowell made this observation about child labor in third world countries. If the child has no opportunity to work for the intermediate good, money, he cannot buy the food to maintain life. So, by denying child labor are we inadvertently killing children?
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How do you think the subsidies will affect the Chinese economy in the long run? I think the subsidies distort the economy so greatly that there is a lot of wastage and malinvestment. For instance, the ghost cities where they are destroying vast apartment complexes because they are rotting as they stand empty are a good example of malinvestments. And, just to think, they have whole ghost cities like that!
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