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iPhone5 delays, Life at Foxconn

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lockerc18

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
May 17, 2012
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I suppose I should feel bad about the working conditions at Foxconn... but I don't. No one is forcing people to work there.
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True, no one puts a gun to their head and forces them to work. But for many of these people, working in such a factory is their only option for putting food on the table. The factory owners exploit this desperation by giving the workers meager pay and abject living conditions. They say that the workers have the freedom to leave at any time, but the truth is they really don't. It's a ruthless system and one that your ignorant remark fails to recognize.
 
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The nature of capitalist markets is that they always will seek the lowest cost labor. Let's face it the only thing stopping companies from using slaves is world opinion against slavery. The world does not have such an opinion of voluntary low cost labor.

When the market causes wages to rise to high in China, some forms of production will move on to other parts of Asia, Africa etc. THe only thing that protects higher cost labor markets for this sort of thing are tariffs and regulation and that doesn't work extremely well. Still it continues to be attempted (ahem...Brazil)

Robots are another factor but they can't replace everything its not cost effective or technically feasible.
 
The main complaint is that Apple basically squeezes their suppliers to such small profit margins that hey have to get more cost effective, which often results in detoriated working conditions.

However, many factories in China are a lot worse. I'm not trying to make it sound right what happens at Foxconn, but those workers could be far worse off.
 
spazzer4501 said:
But for many of these people, working in such a factory is their only option for putting food on the table..
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This is a unintelligent statement. What would limit someone to ONLY be able to work at Foxconn in order to put food on their table? This is similar to a battered woman saying she had to stay and receive beatings in order to feed her children and keep a roof over their heads. Insane.
 
Rocko1 said:
This is a unintelligent statement. What would limit someone to ONLY be able to work at Foxconn in order to put food on their table? This is similar to a battered woman saying she had to stay and receive beatings in order to feed her children and keep a roof over their heads. Insane.
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he said "such a factory" not foxconn specifically
 
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