I believe it is safe to say that most any consumer purchase made in the Western world, especially here in the States, comes directly from Asian labor. Anyone truly concerned about human rights within the Asian continent needs to take a long, difficult look at the manner in which we do business: the nirvana of cheap prices plus the monetary ability to buy just about anything produces a chilling nonchalance regarding the effects of those economic decisions.
The consequences are many. Obviously, we do not have the collective ability to elect politicians who put American ideals first, ie an individual’s hard work results in personal economic well-being and independence from government; that a nation addicted to government welfare inevitably leads to economic bankruptcy not only through higher taxes but also through the necessity to borrow foreign credit required to uphold a state of welfare. The business climate, too, suffers, with expatriated companies setting up shop overseas along with their profits and jobs.
Perhaps I am jumping to conclusions, but perhaps not. With the recent passing of Steve Jobs, there have been some excellent articles/commentaries on Jobs and the company he created. Suffice to say that our economic choices have dire consequences – is the high human cost in the Asian suicide rate and child labor practice worth our adulation of companies such as Apple and the genius of those like Steve Jobs? I would say not.
Yet this does not abscond the Asian continent from its own guilt and compliance in the matter. What I would like to say is the death of someone like Jobs should give us all pause towards how we choose to live, especially in economic terms. Charity begins at home. Our ability to manufacture and produce our own goods on American soil also greatly reduces the moral hazard we all face each day at the supermarket in what we purchase.
