If China were to improve its records on the environment, worker rights, and human rights, it sounds (from the article) as if they would still have an advantage in manufacturing that would be pretty hard to overcome by another country.
But I would certainly feel a lot better, and would even be willing to pay a bit more for my products, knowing that the government did indeed enforce similar regulations to what we see in Western countries.
Ironically, the Chinese government, which is still ruled by the "Communist" party, is demonstrating the worst aspects of capitalism -- namely, that profit trumps all other considerations.
Nah. That's the price you pay to make Apple move their factories from the US to China. If not, Apple will make their plants in the US.
As some has mentioned, it's the price you pay for growth when you are poor. I have been there, and done that. Still not rich, but situation improved. I couldn't do it otherwise, and I'm happy I did it and moved forward.
The advantage is partly from having less focus on the good of an individual vs the good of the whole. It looks like there's an inherent cultural aspect to this that exceeds what we've ever seen in "western" cultures, but some of it will almost certainly fall by the wayside as economic development continues, as it did in the west.
The edge will probably be there for generations to come, but I expect the gap to shrink dramatically.
But I would certainly feel a lot better, and would even be willing to pay a bit more for my products, knowing that the government did indeed enforce similar regulations to what we see in Western countries.
Ironically, the Chinese government, which is still ruled by the "Communist" party, is demonstrating the worst aspects of capitalism -- namely, that profit trumps all other considerations.