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E-mail a friendYOUNG VOICES
When 'Made in China' is a Good Thing
This time of year it's especially easy to forget the value that material things can have. While a Christmas Wii or Hanukkah iPod may make us happy for a day or two, it will quickly lose its sheen, and by the time next December rolls around it will likely be replaced by something newer, shinier, and even more desirable. Most of the gifts exchanged in the First World this year, an enormous part of which were made in China, will have little effect on our lives one way or the other. They won't make us much happier, or allow us to do things that were impossible before. For some people elsewhere in the world, however, this is not the case.
In today's New York Times is a story about Chinese motorcycles, and the way they are transforming life in rural Laos. Far less expensive than their Japanese counterparts, the bikes allow villagers to transport produce to local markets, and carry sick people to hospital, both of which were previously practically impossible. Chinese televisions and satellite dishes, too, are making an impact by bringing news and information to previously isolated regions.
In the developed world, we fret over the lead paint in Chinese toys, and feel guilty about shopping at Wal Mart. We can buy better, safer toys made closer to home. We can afford to pay more for our clothes and groceries without sacrificing much. In Southeast Asia, however, the reality is different. Cheap Chinese goods mean an immediate increase in quality of life, the difference, in some cases, between life and death.
Whether or not this will be good in the long term is yet to be discovered. As with everything made cheaply in China, the motorcycles and televisions don't last nearly as long as their more expensive counterparts, and the pollution from their production is creating huge environmental problems. For now, however, this seems less important than the prosperity they bring. As we continue to fill our homes with inexpensive Chinese-made products, from food, to electronics, to baby furniture, we hardly have cause to argue.