I think you are giving Apple a bit too much credit. Apple is not teaching the Chinese how to be ethical. Apple is not revolutionizing manufacturing in China.
Apple is using a Chinese manufacturing company and giving them a lot of business. A LOTTTTT of business. This is a good thing.
But you can't go from there to claim that Apple is somehow teaching the poor Chinese, who are incapable of ethical action. It sounds very insulting the way you put it :(
I do wholeheartedly agree with the statement that the peculiar focus on Apple for Foxconn's bad working conditions is very strange. It's not like Foxconn is the only manufacturing company, nor is Apple their only customer.
"claim that Apple is somehow teaching the poor Chinese, who are incapable of ethical action. It sounds very insulting the way you put it :("
China is a country that only liberalized and allowed capitalism a few decades ago. It has started from communist rule down a path to where now it is a world manufacturing powerhouse.
It is not an insult to say that in doing so, Chinese manufacturers learned a lot, and that Apple's partnership with foxconn (Which is a legit partnership, not just Apple picking the lowest bidder as people assume) did involve a lot of such education. This is not an insult to the chinese, in fact, it is a testament to the wisdom of the guy who founded Foxxconn, as I believe it is this partnership that has allowed him to grow as fast as he has and be as successful.
Apple's relationship with Foxcon involves Apple owning hundreds of millions of dollars of equipment in their plants, that Apple bought and paid for and that Hon Hai uses to manufacture Apple products. This is an investment in Hon Hai as well as a leg up to them, and is merely the physical analog to the intellectual side of the relationship.
I misuse the word "ethical" in my post, and I should have avoided it completely. I certainly didn't mean to imply the chinese are unethical, or that their working conditions lacked ethics. Actually, on the contrary, I think their work ethic is superior to the american one.
I believe that Hon Hai put up with more requirements from apple, and gave apple a good price, in exchange for apple helping to modernize their manufacturing processes their quality control processes, etc.
Ah k. If indeed you mean that this situation eventually leads to pressure for something like more beneficial labor laws/practices, then I'm 100% with you. Sorry for the confusion there.
Apple is using a Chinese manufacturing company and giving them a lot of business. A LOTTTTT of business. This is a good thing.
But you can't go from there to claim that Apple is somehow teaching the poor Chinese, who are incapable of ethical action. It sounds very insulting the way you put it :(
I do wholeheartedly agree with the statement that the peculiar focus on Apple for Foxconn's bad working conditions is very strange. It's not like Foxconn is the only manufacturing company, nor is Apple their only customer.
Edit: I can grammar.