This post was inspire by Matt Asay’s article Why I’d pay Apple more to give iPad factory workers a break - Time to 'think different' on production line demands.
Profit making is not the problem. The sharing of the profit made amongst the members of the value chain is.
Those who make the big bucks make too much at the expense of those who make too little. Just how much is enough? Cheap, fast and good is possible – when we are prepared to sacrifice the lives and welfare of some people!
Apple is not the only company using the contentious Foxconn facility of course. But this “everyone’s doing it” excuse does not hold water at all. As the article points out, Apple is in a unique position to think different and lead on this issue. They are also in a good position to afford it too. Will they do it?
I am not advocating communism at all. We all know that doesn’t work given human nature. Perhaps an increased awareness of enough is enough?
Enough already of arbitrarily, unthinking increasing profit targets. Enough already of screwing suppliers on costs a la Walmart. We are so disconnected from the real cost of things. Surely it is utter fantasy to expect prices to keep falling endlessly for everything? How can imported broccoli be cheaper than locally grown ones? Unless we are not paying or seeing the real cost of course – the exploitation of people and the environment.
It is time to think differently and more holistically, about how we make, transport, sell, use and dispose of stuff. It is time to think more humanely. If we could part the abstraction veils separating our shiny toys from the misery that is built into them, would we still be ok to pay the same price or indeed buy the actual items?
What actions can we take today as business leaders, shareholders, and consumers? Could we be bothered?
(Taxes should further the distribution of wealth too – and that would be counting on governments to do what is right for the people.)
