Maybe I've been reading too much Guns, Germs, and Steel...but if what the Wall Street Journal and Treehugger are saying is true, and I don't know why it isn't, then are we, the bargain-seeking American public, at war with China?
I'll sum up in drastic generalizations: We know that China won't enforce environmental standards on its manufacturers. Its manufacturers aim to produce ever-cheaper goods for mostly the US. Results: technicolor water and air too smoggy to do sports in, even by Chinese standards. The expected lifespan of a Chinese traffic cop is 43 years, in a culture historically noted for longevity.
Who do we expect to suffer? I can't see how it's anyone but the Chinese. Which looks like a culture clash, with us winning (for the time being, while there's still a Eastern billion to do our dirty work, dirtily), and the Chinese losing. Agreeing to lose.
Odd, these paradigm-shifts. I don't know what to think. Other than, yet another reason for anyone who would like to have independence from the Store, to practice those skills now, because prices on everything from the Store will only go up.
[Is it bribing them to commit environmental/health suicide via economic measures? Machiavellian, to be sure...]
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