this post was submitted on 09 Mar 2024
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[–] [email protected] 8 points 8 months ago (1 children)

John Smith - Imperialism in the 21st century is an excellent book on this, but this article on the GDP illusion, mainly about three global commodities, the smartphone, t-shirt, and, coffee, is a great introduction.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

I don't care if they make a profit from the work? They are using these products in their products, they have an ethical responsibility to choose companies that treat their employees well or find another company to purchase from. Companies that make that much money from companies that use slave labor should be not normal or accepted. The end.

Apple does not own the Chinese, Malaysian, and other production facilities that manufacture and assemble its products. In contrast to the in-house, foreign direct-investment relationship that used to typify transnational corporations, no annual flow of repatriated profits is generated by Apple’s “arm’s length” suppliers. Standard interpretation of economic statistics, all of which record the results of transactions in the market place, assumes that the slice of the iPhone’s final selling price captured by each U.S. or Chinese firm is identical to the value added each supposedly contributed. They reveal no sign of any cross-border profit flows or value transfers affecting the distribution of profits to Apple and its various suppliers. The only part of Apple’s profits that appear to originate in China are those resulting from the sale of its products in that country.